Flight International Magazine 1918-05-02

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Flight, May 2, I91S. First A«ro Weekly i> the World. Founder and Editor t STANLEY SPOONER. A Journal devoted te the Intereite, Preetiee, and Prof ran of Aerial Locomotion and Tramport. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ROYAL AERO CLUB OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. No. 488. (No. 18, Vol. X.) May 2, 1918. Veekly, Prtoe 6d. 7d. FUtfht. and The Aircraft Engineer. Kditoria.1 Office 1 3«. GREAT QUEEN STREET, KINGSWAY, W.C. a. Telegrams : Truditar, WcstcenC, London. Telephone: Gcrrard i8*B. Annual Subscription Rates, Post Free. United Kingdom ... 28 s. 2d. Abroad... •## .. 331. cm i. CONTENTS. Editorial Comment : ■ ♦ page Lord Rolhermcre's Resignation 465 The New Air Minister .. .. .. .. „ „ .. .. 466 The Political Incubus 466 Shades of W. S. Gilbert 467 Honours .. •• •• .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 469 The Foklcer Triplane (with scale drawings) 47a The Royal Aero Club. Official Notices 477 The R.F.C. Hospital Gramophone Fund M .. .. .. .. 478 The Roll of Honour 478 The Modern Aeroplane. By F. S. Barnwell, Captain, R. F.C. .. .. 479 Trade Parliaments and their Work. — II 481 Airisms from the Four Winds 482 The British Air Services •• .. 485 Personals.. .. M 487 Aviation in Parliament ... 489 The Air Force Debate 490 Aircmft Work at the Front. Official Information 494 Side Winds - 495 Correspondence •• .. • • •• •• •• •• •• •• 496 Company Matters 496 EDITORIAL COMMENT. " Newspapers are an essential part of our war organisation.” — (Sir Auckland Gedda. Minister ol Nation al Service.) is impossible to view the retirement of Lord Rothermere from the post of Secretary of State of the Air Force with anything but the most profound regret. Not only is it a matter for regret that the Air Force has lost a most capable head, but the circum- stances immediately anterior to his re- tirement were such that a most misleading impression of the reasons prompting his resignation is almost bound, as a matter of course, to become Lord , prevalent until his own explanation is ILm i g*na ti on f publicly given. In his letter of resigna- tion, addressed to the Prime Minister, Lord Rothermere, it is true, gives reasons which are all-»ufficient to those who know under what circum- stances he has lately conducted the business of fusing together what were', until a month ago, two separate Services. But the uninformed majority will be sure to see another case of “ diplomatic illness,” and wall continue to believe the stories that have been — and are still being — told of friction and chaos at the Air Ministry. Therefore it will be a real advantage to the country to have Lord Rothermere’s own account of the circumstances which have led up to recent changes in the personnel of the Air Council, with his assurance that these have had nothing at all to do with his own retirement at a time when his services are still badly needed by the Air Service and the State. So far, despite the Premier's explanation, we have heard nothing authoritative at all about the changes to which wc refer, but rumour has been busy with the usual disquieting statements about civilian heads of departments, who know nothing, dominating the military element which knows everything. Without for a moment pre- suming to pass judgment in the controversy which has arisen through the very regrettable retirement of Sir David Henderson and Sir Hugh Trcnchard from the Air Council, followed now by the resignation of the Secretary of State, we do assert that it is high time the country was told the exact truth. Doubt- less Lord Rothermere will himself realise this and explain all the circumstances during the discussion in the Lords on the Air Vote. If he does it will clear the air, and we shall know where and how the blame is to be apportioned. If he does not, then all we can say is that it will make an unsatisfactory state of affairs more unsatisfactory still. Mr. Lloyd George, in the course of the debate on the Air Vote on Monday, went a long way towards discounting the criticism which the resignation of General Trenchard has aroused, and certainly gave reasons which would have justified Lord Rothermere in transferring the late Chief of the Staff to another sphere of activity. That, however, does not carry us all the way, and we are still of opinion that Lord Rothermere should, if he can do so without impro- priety, disclose the textual reasons for the conflict of opinion which undoubtedly arose between himself and General Trenchard. It is due as much to himself as to the latter that he should follow this course. So far as concerns the affaire and its bearing on General Trenchard personally, we can see no reflection on an officer who is undoubtedly a great leader of men that it should be said of him that he does not possess the “ staff brain ” in excelsis. Lord Roberts was a great leader, but there is no reason to suppose that he was an equally great chief of the staff. Conversely, Lord Kitchener was, in the opinion of high German military authorities — and they F

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are judges of military ability — the “ greatest chief of the staff of the nineteenth century,” but it is not belittling his memory to say that in the conduct of his campaigns he did not display all those qualities which go to make a great leader. As Mr. Lloyd George very truly said, there is an essential difference between the qualities of mind and brain required by the man who sits in an office thinking out plans for the distant future and those required for great leader- ship and the inspiration of men in the field. It would be a calamity if the great abilities of General Trenchard were to be lost to the Air Force and the nation, and we doubt not that these will be used to the fullest advantage in some other direction than that of Chief of the Air Staff. There does not seem to be any difficulty in so using them now that the chief with whom he differed so seriously has him- self left the Air Ministry, provided General Trenchard can be induced to return to harness. Of that we do not think there can be any question — it would be an insult to a fine soldier to doubt it — and we look with confidence to the combination of Sir William Weir as Air Minister, General Sykes as his Chief of the Staff, and General Trenchard in a new sphere to bring the Air Force to that still higher state of military efficiency required hv the stress of war on the colossal scale. Passing to the work of Lord Rothcrmere at the Air Ministry, he succeeded Lord Cowdray as President of the Air Board on the latter’s retirement in November last. It fell to him to complete the good work, so well begun by his predecessor, which eventually- resulted in the passing of the Air Force Act, con- stituting the single air service which is now an accom- plished fact. He has proved himself to be a strong man, of forceful personality, knowing what he wanted and how to get it. The work of re-organisation which he initiated immediately on his advent to the Hotel Cecil has been productive of the best results, even though individuals may liave suffered as a conse- quence. It has been freely stated that the outcome of Lord Rothcrmere's re-organisation schemes has been something akin to chaos, and that he leaves an Air Council divided against itself. That we know to be absolutely untrue. On the contrary, although it is quite inevitable that there should be a certain amount of overlapping, and even some confusion, in the consummation of a gigantic fusion like that of the R.N.A.S. and the R.F.C., that has, we are happy to know, been the very' minimum possible in the circumstances. The blending together of these two Services is proceeding more smoothly and with less confusion than the most optimistic had dared to hope, and in no small measure this is due to Lord Rothermere’s ability and the eminently businesslike manner in which the many complicated questions in- volved have been handled by him. His retirement now' is a real loss to the R.A.F. and to the country, and the sympathy' of every decent person wall go out to him in the sorrow w'hich lies at the root of his resignation. ♦ ♦ ♦ I.ord Rothermere’s successor as the Air Minister, Sir William Weir, is an un- Air Minister, known quantity as the head of a great fighting Service. He has done exceed- ingly- good work as Director-General of Aircraft Pro- duction. He is the head of a great engineering con- cern, and thus brings a wide knowledge and experience of large-scale business to bear on the development of the R.A.F. He is 'young, too, as men are reckoned in the apportionment of high public office, and possesses great driving force and boundless energy. Whether he is also a great administrator remains to be seen. The new Minister has a great opportunity. He takes hold of a gigantic Service which is even yet in its infancy, and his will be the hand that will mould its destinies during a war which has really brought it into being. There is much that he can do to make or mar its future, and it will be with anxious eyes that the country will watch him during his first few months of office. For our own part, we have the fullest confidence that Sir William will prove to be the man for whom the country and the Air Service is looking to complete the building up of an over- whelmingly powerful air fleet. We have seen some- thing of his work at the head of the production branch of the Service, and it has been more than good. Then, his is not a political appointment. He has been selected because, the politicians having failed us all along the line, the Government has simply been driven by sheer force of circumstances to make its appointments by the test of suitability. Even so, its selections have not invariably been happy'. In some cases its appointment of " business ” men to be heads of departments has been almost worse in its consequences than though they had been the result of the usual political jobbery'. Invariably, however, this has been the result of appointing a man who has made good in one department of business to carry on work which is foreign to him and in which he is handicapped by' the prejudices and precedents of official routinism. In such a case the result is almost a foregone conclusion — it must end in failure. But in the case of the appointment of Sir William Weir to be Air Minister none of these causes are likely to be operative. Not only is he a man accustomed to think and act on the great scale, but he has the in- estimable advantage of having been intimately asso- ciated with the work of the department he is now called upon to control. We believe he w'ill make good. ♦ ♦ * Anything more indecent than the .rhe manner in w'hich politicians in khaki Incubus. are Prone t° make use of confidential information disclosed to them in the course of military’ duty in order to score off political opponents it would be difficult to imagine. A case in point is that of Sir John Simon and the questions he recently addressed to the Prime Minister, regarding the resignation of General Trenchard. This lawyer- politician-cum-soldier asked in the House the other day : On what date General Trenchard tendered his resignation, and on what date the matter came before the War Cabinet and the resignation was accepted ? Before the question was answered, General McCalmont administered a well-merited rebuke in the way of a question to the Leader of the House, desiring to know if the latter was aware that hitherto it had been customary for members who hold commissions to refrain from making use of confi- dential information, which reached them in the course of their duties, in putting questions or taking part in debates which affect the conduct of their superiors, and did he expect that course to be continued ? Even that, apparently, did not impel Sir John Simon to withdraw what, in the circumstances, was a highly improper question and the latter was duly answered by Mr. Bonar Law. 466

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May 2, 1918. Now, it cannot be thought for a moment that Sir John Simon — this lawyer-soldier of some ten minutes' service as an officer — asked his question for the purpose of extracting information for his own in- formation, nor that he asked it in the public interest. So far as regards the first, he did not require the information to amplify his oivn knowledge of the dates for which he asked. He knew them already, as a consequence of information obtained in his capacity as a soldier. Nor could he have thought that his question was in the public interest, since the answer to be expected could hardly carry the public know- ledge of the " affaire Trenchard " any further. Obviously, then, he could only have asked his question for the purpose of embarrassing the War Cabinet. Were Sir John Simon not for the time being a soldier — had he stuck to politics as his first fine of business — we could be content to let the matter pass as one of petty political malice and a part of the unsavoury game of trying to discredit the other side by innuendo. But he has chosen to don the uniform of one of the fighting Services, and must be content, like others of less public notoriety, to abide by the restrictions and disabilities of public utterance imposed — and rightly imposed— by his service. It is simply intolerable that these khaki-politicians should be free to use con- fidential service information for political purposes, either in or out of the House of Commons. We con- cede that many members of the House have done exceedingly well in the fighting Services, and it seems hard that a man who elects to serve his country as a soldier should suffer civil disability as a result, or that his constituents should be disfranchised because of the patriotism of their representative, but we do think that the dual rale of soldier and politician is an anomalous one. True, there have not, so far as recollection serves, been many abuses of the duality, but there certainly have been enough to point the fact that the role is, as we say, anomalous and open to grave abuse. So far as we see, the only remedy is in the hands of the men themselves — the only restraint is in their sense of honour. But the game of party politics is a dirty one at best, and it is a striking fact that when the politician is faced with the decision of whether to allow his sense of honour free play or to score a point off his opponents at the price of the first, it is generally the sense of honour which is sacrificed. In the particular case under discussion, we are not at all certain how far Parliamentary privi- lege protects a Service member who improperly dis- closes or makes use of information which comes to him in the course of his service duties, but we certainly think Sir John Simon’s military superiors should enquire closely into the question of whether or not they are able to deal with him for “ conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline." ♦ ♦ ♦ Does the Government want women to enrol in the various auxiliary corps for W. S. Gilbert, which recruiting is nominally open, or does it not ? We are impelled to ask the question because of certain correspondence which lies before us as we write. There are two letters. The first, from a lady — the widow of a flying officer British Official. THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE ON THE WESTERN FRONT IN FRANCE — A day-bombing squadron. Some of the big bombing machines. 467

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May 2, 1918. recently killed on service — enclosing the second, sets forth that having read in the pages of “ Flight ” that recruits are wanted for the Women's Royal Air Force (an announcement we made in perfect good faith), she decided to join up to *' do her bit." So she wrote to the nearest recruiting officer, setting forth her qualifications and asked to be enrolled as an officer. She had lived for a year close to the aero- drome to which her late husband was attached ; she had flown with him ; and had assisted him with his studies while he was qualifying for his technical examinations. Further, she had had five years' practical experience of motoring. Altogether, we should say this lady possesses somewhat exceptional qualifications for entry to the W.R.A.F., and, that being so, it might be thought that entry would have been the easiest thing in the world. But the recruiting authorities have ways of their own. The second letter is from the manager of the Labour Exchange to which application was made in the ordinary course (w’hy should the Labour Ex- changes be the recruiting authority, by the wTay ?), and it is curt and to the point : ‘‘I have to inform you that you are not eligible for employment in the Immobile Branch of the Royal Air Force, as all ❖ The New Secretary of State. It was announced on April 27th that the King has approved the appointment of Sir William Weir to be Secretary of State for the Royal Air Force, in succession to Lord Rother- rnere. It was announced in the Court Circular on April 27th that Sir William Weir was sworn in a Member of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council at Buckingham Palace. Previous to the Council the Lord Robert Cecil, M.P., was received in audience by the King, and on behalf of the Lord Rothermere surrendered the Seals of Secretary of State of the Royal Air Force and President of the Air Council. At the Council His Majesty handed the Seals of Secretary of State of the Royal Air Force and President of the Air Council to the Right Hon. Sir William Weir, who took the Oath of Office and kissed hands upon his appointment. The Right. Hon. Sir William Weir had an audience of the King after the Council. members must actually live in their own homes in the town.” The italics are our own. Naturally, our correspondent is somewhat bewildered at this. As she points out, if she were accepted for service at any particular place it tvould be easy enough for her to live in that place and remove the apparently existing disability. Moreover, as she lives for the present at a place where there is no detachment of the W.R.A.F., it becomes a little difficult to see how she is going to achieve her ambition of succeeding her husband in the service of the country and to fall at the same time within the four comers of this utterly futile regulation. To our way of thinking this is one of the worst examples of the methods of red tape we have come across — and we are becoming used to hearing and reading stories of official futility. There is no need for us to labour the case. We have set it forth as it has reached us, and we venture to think it speaks for itself. Who at the Air Ministry is respon- sible for the regulation and the manner in which it appears to be interpreted we do not know, but we trust that when he has read these lines he will go somewhat deeper into the question than he seems to have done. Or is it the Ministry of National Service that is responsible ? The Naval Raid on Zeebrugge and Ostend. In his statement in the House of Commons on April 24th, regarding the naval raid on Ostend and Zebrugge, Sir Eric Geddes stated that the difficulties of the undertaking were considerably increased by mist, rain and with corresponding low visibility and consequent absence of effective aerial observation. The following communique was issued by the Admiralty on April 24th : — " Following the naval operations on the enemy’s coast yesterday morning, observations were made by aircraft and bomb attacks carried out. Observation was difficult owing to clouds, and on this account our machines descended as low as 50 ft. A clear break 20 yards wide was observed in the Z( ebrugge Mole at its inner end. At Ostend a sunken object was seen lying between the piers, and blocking the greater part of the fairway. Numerous bombs were dropped on objectives on shore." British Official. THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE ON THE WESTERN FRONT IN FRANCE. — R.A.F. scouting squadron, who fly low to use their machine guns on the enemy masses. 468

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May 2, 1918. C HONOURS Honours for the R.N.A.S. It was announced in a London Gazelle supplement on April 26th that the King has been pleased to approve of the following honours, decorations, and medals to officers and men of the Royal Naval Air Service in recognition of their services : — (1) At Dunkirk. Distinguished Service Order. Wing Capt. R. H. Clark-Hall. R.N. ; Wing Commander H. M. Cave-Brown-Cave, R.N. ; Squadron Commander R. S. Dallas, D.S.C.. R.N.A.S. Bar to the D.S.O Wing Commander R. H. Mulock, D.S.O.. R.N.A.S. Distinguished Service Cross. Squadron Commander C. Draper, R.N.A.S. ; Squadron Commander A. R. Arnold, R.N.A.S ; Squadron Commander W. L. Welsh, R.N.A.S. ; Flight Lieutenant (Acting Flight Commander) F. E. Banbury, R.N.A.S. Distinguished Service Medal. C.P.O. G. E. Barrett, O.N. F656 ; Leading Mech. (E.) E. H. Beesley, O.N. F10447 ; C.P.O., 3rd Gr„ F. A. Benfield, O.N. M1722 (Po.) ; P.O. (E.) R. A. Clarke, O.N. F3896 ; C.P.O. (E.) E. Dessaussois, O.N. F1663 ; C.P.O. (E.) H. Gott, O.N. 271902 (Ch.) ; C.P.I. (E.) J. V. Grieve, O.N. F263 ; C.P.O. (E.) W. A. Hill, O.N. F4596 ; Air Mech., 2nd Gr. (G.), J. D. R. Innes. O.N. F8687 ; C.P.O., 3rd Gr. (R./H.), T. S. Jobling, O.N. F249 ; C.P.O. (E.) W. L. Johnson, O.N. F4529; C.P.O., 3rd Gr. (W.), A. E. Le Sueur, O.N. F3413; C.P.O. <E.) H. Mann, O.N. F485 ; P.O. (R./H.) E. W. Mayes, O.N. F3507 ; C.P.O., 3rd Gr. (E.), F. Moore, O.N. F1637 : 3rd Writer R. A. Pennington, O.N. Mi6n6 (Po.) ; 3rd Writer W. Quaye, O.N. M20159 (Ch.) ; P.O. (R./H.) C. E. Roust. O. N. F3903 ; P.O. (R./H.) C. 0. Towler, O.N. 237507 (Po.). Mentions in Despatches. The following officers and men have been mentioned in despatches : — Flight Paymaster F. R. Waymouth, R.N. ; Lieut.-Com- mander R. Bull, R.N.V.R.; Squadron Commander W. Wright, R.N.A.S. ; Lieut. A. S. Cheshire, R.N.V.R. ; Lieut. W. D. Wain, R.N.V.R. ; Hon. Dental Surgeon H. J.Corin, R.N.V.R.; P. O. (W./T.) H. Aves, O.N. F422 ; C.P.O. (R./H.) P. Coyle, O. N. 218288 (Ch.) ; P.O. (E.) H. Dawson, O.N. F4755 ; C.P.O. (E.) W. Griffiths, O.N. F8339 ; P.O. (W.) E. C. Hopper, O.N. F5113 ; P.O. Mech. A. E. Humphrey, O.N. F2348 ; Leading Mech. (C.) R. F. Manders, O.N. F'ti078; Leading Mechanic (E.) F. R. Maskell, O.N. F8 ; C.P.O., 3rd. Gr. (E.), L. G. Miles, O.N. F1149; P.O. (C.) J. M. Mitchell, O.N. F3689 ; P.O. (E.) H. W. Newill, O.N. F2272 ; P. O. (E.)‘ V. S. Parker, O.N. F2220 ; P.O. (C.) R. W. Petch, O.N. F9289 ; C.P.O., 3rd Gr. (E.), W. C. Reeves, O.N. F3123 ; C.P.O., 3rd Gr. (E.), A. Smith, O.N. F1594 ; C.P.O., 3rd Gr. (E.), J. R. Strachan, O.N. F2461 ; P.O. (C.) E. Strain, O.N. F2iot ; C.P.O., 1st Gr. (E.). R. Tuck, O.N. 271357 (Po.). (2) Miscellaneous. Distinguished Service Order. Flight Commander F. T. Digby, D.S.C., R.N.A.S. — For the consistent determination, gallantry and skill displayed by him on long-distance bombing raids, particularly on the night of March 24th-25th, 1918. On that date, in spite of mist, which made the journey most difficult, he eventually reached his objective, which he bombed with good results. Distinguished Service Cross. Squadron Commander A. B. Gaskell, R.N.A.S. — In re- cognition of his services on the occasion of the evacuation of the Thermi aerodrome on October 9th to 15th, 1917, under continuous bombardment by the enemy. Flight Lieut, (acting Flight Commander) L. H. Rochford, R.N.A.S. — For consistent determination, bravery, and skill as a fighting pilot and flight commander. He has destroyed and driven out of control man}- enemy machines. Flight Lieut. J. A. Glen, R.N.A.S. — For exceptional gallantry and skill as a fighting pilot and flight leader. On July 7th, 1917, he attacked two seaplanes off Osteiid. In conjunction with other pilots he shot down one which crashed into the sea. The second he attacked himself, and after a short combat it also crashed into the sea, sinking immediately. He has destroyed and driven down out of control many enemy machines. Flight Lieut. A. T. Whealy, R.N.A.S. — For the most consistent determination, bravery and skill with which he has carried out numerous low-flying harassing attacks on the enemy’s troops, transports, etc., inflicting heavy casualties and damage. By his splendid example and gallantry a great many hostile operations were hampered and frustrated. He has further brought down many enemy machines. Flight Lieut. A. B. Ellwood, R.N:A.S. — For the deter- mination and skill displayed by him as a pilot. On March 10th, 1918, he attacked three Albatros scouts. He drove two of the enemy aircraft down, and then dived on the third and fired a long burst. The enemy machine pulled up, fell over on its side, and fell straight down out of control until lost sight of. He has also destroyed or brought down out of control many other enemy machines. Bar to the D.S.C. Flight Lieut. S. M. Kinkead, D.S.C.. R.N.A.S— For the skill and courage displayed by him as a pilot. On M rch 22nd, 1918, he attacked and drove down out of control an Albatros scout which was attacking a French machine. He has brought down many other enemy machines. He is an exceptionally good pilot, and a clever and plucky fighter, and has performed very fine work, both on offensive patrol and on low-flying missions. Flight Lieut. E. Dickson, D.S.C., R.N.A.S. — For con- spicuous gallantry' in attacking enemy aircraft and in carry- ing out bombing raids. On March 16th. 1918, he went to the assistance of a machine of his formation which was being attacked at close quarters by twelve enemy scouts. Despite the fact that all the guns on his machine were useless owing to lack of ammunition, he turned and charged the hostile formation, splitting it up and diverting their attention from the other machine, thus undoubtedly' saving it. On other occasions he has brought down enemy machines and taken part in many daylight bombing raids, at all times showing utter fearlessness and great determination. Observer Lieut. C. Chapman, D.S.C., R.N.A.S. — In re- cognition of his services on March 2rst, 1918, when he carried out successful spotting for the bombardment of Ostend. On other occasions he has carried out valuable reconnaissances for the Fleet. Conspicuous Gallantry Medal. Leading Mech. (E.) S. F. Anderson, D.S.M., O.N. F. 12676. — For conspicuous gallantry, initiative, and courage displayed by him on March 19th, 1918, when the petrol system of his machine sustained extensive damage in action with enemy aircraft. After repairing the damage to the petrol system he noticed that the starboard engine was boiling violently. After reporting to the officer in charge and requestihg that the engine should be throttled down as far as possible, be climbed out on the lower plane, and effected extensive repairs to the water circulation system, and thus enabled the engine to be opened out to the desired number of revolu- tions. Leading mechanic Anderson's work, which was carried out entirely in the open in a wind force of 90 miles per hour, and occupied 1$ hour, undoubtedly saved the machine. Bar to the D.S.M. Air Mech., 1st Gr., P. J. Adkins, O.N. F. 2763. Mentions in Despatches. The following officer and men have been mentioned in despatches : — Warrant Officer, 2nd Gr., A. H. Mitchell, R.N.A.S. ; Lead- ing Mech. A. Copp, O.N. F. 56b; P.O. (R./H.) A. Parish, O.N. F. 9288. Gallant Air Work. With reference to the awards conferred as announced in the London Gazette dated December 17th, 1917, the follow- are the statements of service for which the decorations were conferred : — Distinguished Service Order. 2nd Lieut. R. C. Steele, R.F.C., Spec. Res. — He has done consistent good work in aerial fighting during eight months. On one occasion he brought down within our lines an enemy scout of the latest type, and, landing alongside it, made the enemy pilot a prisoner before he could destroy his machine. Bar to Military Cross. Temp. 2nd Lieut. M. B. Frew, M.C., Gen. List and R-F.C. — For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in shooting down three enemy machines in two days. He has destroyed eight enemy machines and driven down many others out of control. Lieut. R. A. Maybery, M.C., Lrs. and F.R.C. — For con- spicuous gallantry and devotion to duty as leader of offensive patrols for three months, during which he personally destroyed nine enemy aeroplanes and drove down three out of control. On one occasion having lost his patrol, he attacked a formation of eight enemy aeroplanes. One was seen to crash and two others went down out of control, the formation being ccm- pletely broken up. Temp. 2nd Lieut. L. A. Powell, M.C.. Gen. List and R.F.C.- — Since his name was last brought to notice he has destroyed 4*9 C

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eight hostile machines. On one occasion, with his pilot, he engaged 11 enemy aeroplanes, his pilot bringing down one. On another six Albatros scouts and two two-seaters were encountered, two being brought down and three others engaged with indecisive results. The Military Cross. Lieut, (temp. Capt.) J. M. Burd, R.F.A. and R.F.C.-— For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty as a leader of long-distance bomb raids. When returning from a raid he attacked ten enemy aeroplanes which were engaged with another of our formations. He shot down two and his observer another, and he then brought his formation back without loss. In six raids he only lost one machine. He has been leader in seventeen operations and deputy leader in eleven. Lieut. E. D. Clarke. R.F.C.. Spec. Res.— He has shot down five enemy machines. In an attack he repeatedly dived to within 50 ft. of the enemy infantry, firing between 500 and 600 rounds. Though struck by a piece of shell, which wounded him in both arms and shattered both petrol tanks, he succeeded in gliding back behind our lines. Temp. 2nd Lieut. W. Durrand, Gen. List and R^F.C. As a patrol leader he is dashing and determined. He has shot down seven enemy machines. Temp. Capt. H. 0. W. Hill, R.F.C.— He carried out artillery observation on a hostile battery for three and a half hours, subjected most of the time to heavy anti-aircraft and machine- gun fire. Nevertheless he directed the shooting most suc- cessfully. He has attacked hostile aircraft on 23 occasions and driven them off ; in one of these attacks, he succeeded in driving off five enemy aeroplanes, although his observer was wounded. He has shown great skill. 2nd Lieut. D’A. F. Hilton, R.F.C., Spec. Res.— -For con- spicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in attacking enemy aircraft and engaging troops on the ground. While on patrol he attacked single-handed six two-seater machines, forcing one down and driving the rest back. He has driven down five other machines. 2nd Lieut. H. H. Maddocks, Gen. List and R.F.C. — Whilst attacking two hostile aeroplanes he saw an enemy machine attacking one of his patrol. He at once attacked the enemy machine which was seen to crash. On one occasion during a fight between seven enemy machines and a patrol of our scouts, he engaged one of the enemy machines, causing it to drop from 6,000 ft. to 1,000 ft., where it caught fire and dived vertically down. On two Other occasions he drove down an enemy machine after a short fight. He has done consistent and continual good work. Capt. J. J. L. Williams, Yeo., attd. R.F.C.— He shot down three hostile aeroplanes in a very short period, showing great initiative and fearlessness on all occasions. With reference to the awards conferred, as announced in the London Gazette, dated January 1 8th, 1918, the following are the statements of service for which the decorations were conferred : — The Military Cross. Lieutenant (Temp. Captain) B. P. G. Beanlands, Hamp- shire Regiment and R.F.C. — -He has brought down three enemy aeroplanes out of control and driven down several others over the enemy lines. Temp. Second Lieutenant R. R. Bentley, General List and R.F.C. — When information was urgently required during an attack, and several attempts to obtain it had been un- successful owing to exceptionally bad weather conditions, he went out and succeeded in gaining the necessary informa- tion, flying at a height of about 50 feet under heavy rifle and machine gun fire. He had already made a flight under similar conditions on the same day. His pluck and determination were a fine example to his squadron. _ Temp. Lieutenant P. T. Carden, General List and R.F.C. — When acting as observer he made a successful wire recon- naissance along a corps front at a height of 300 to 800 feet under heavy machine gun and rifle fire. On another occasion, while observing during a reconnoitring patrol, he and his pilot had four encounters with enemy aeroplanes, in one of which they were attacked at 800 feet by five enemy scouts. He kept up a continuous fire, and drove off the enemy, and completed a valuable reconnaissance. He showed the greatest keenness and determination at his work. Lieutenant (Temp. Captain) R. M. Charley, R.F.C. (Special Reserve). — He attacked a hostile balloon which was eventually brought down in flames. With four other pilots he attacked eight enemy scouts and drove two down. He has driven down four other enemy aircraft, usually fighting with his patrol against greatly superior numbers. Second Lieutenant C. G. Fenton, R.F.C., Special Reserve. In spite of frequent thunderstorms, and the use of smoke screens by the enemy, he ranged a battery on a hostile battery position, obtaining eight good hits, destroying ^wo gun-pits, and causing a large explosion. He afterwards ranged them on to another battery, destroying a gun-pit, ob^'nedthrte direct hits on a farm full of troops, and then silen«d four batteries. On at least two other occasions he ranged the battery with remarkable success. . __ A Second Lieutenant H. Hammond, Dorset Regiment and R.F.C. — Having successfully bombed a station behind the enemy lines, he was wounded in the arm ‘a ™it erwards recovering he again took control, but shortly afterw - t£T5X!i£*£ one. mo,,. Hi, coolncs. in spite of pain and loss of blood were remarkable occasions he has bombed and deraded trains and destroyed hangars at hostile aerodromes. He invariably se example of courage and skill. Berks Lieutenant (Temp. Captain) H. Hew ' X devotion Regiment and R.F.C.— For conspicuous gallantry and <£vot to duty when co-operating with heavy artillery. H P ^ formed gallant and valuable work, which resulted in the partial destruction of an enemy railway bridge. observed Lieutenant F. H. Holmes, R.E. and R.F.C.-He observeQ for 37 destructive counter-battery shoots, and shot down two berland Fusiliers and R.F.C.— As observer, having succe^fully bombed a station behind the enemy lines, ^ Liok contro of the machine on his pilot fainting from a bullet wound m the arm. He managed to keep the machine Jewl and flew it until his pilot recovered. Shortly afterwards t again lost consciousness and this officer took the once more, managing to land the machine -"derfrydiffiimU "‘’E&SS? G. Catron R.F.C. — After completing four successful ^mbardmen^ Shoots in one flight, giving 96 observations, he by seven enemy aeroplanes, but drove them ofl. O^nother occasion, though attacked by four enemy he £ tained the information he desired and tendered ^P" j Lieutenant (Temp. Captain) C. T. Lally R^RC.. Special Reserve. For conspicuous gallantry and de}r01t*°“ tanc^ in many bomb raids and photographic and longdistance reconnaissances, many of which he has led most su ^ He has taken part in numerous combats and has desti . J three hostile positions When ordered to bo®a P » * he spent 1* hours looking for it, then “u™?“ant A. Ma»„, A S C. and R.K-* Lieutenant A. Mann, A.s.u ana ■’ rr~T' took photographs though attacked by several enemy aeroplanes, one of which he drove down. On another occasion, though attacked by four Albatros scouts and driven down fr 9,500 feet to 4,000 feet, he drove off the enemy and com- P' Lieliffinant^Temp. Captain) C. E. H. Medhurst^-Y^ Inniskillen Fusiliers and R.F.C.-He sucressfulybom^d from a low altitude hostile batteries which were in action, and silenced their fire. ,, r c„pr Res Second Lieutenant P. J. Moloney, RF.C.. Spec - Res. When on patrol he was attacked by six hostile aeroplanes, which dived at him out of the clouds. In thefirs fire he received a severe wound, his control wires w badly cut, and several of his flying wires were shot away; Despite this he attacked four of the ^nt^r^ntroh of which disappeared, another crashing [down out of ^ control. Feeling very faint from loss of blood, he then ma rv lines through the nearest clouds. Though ^ ma ^ thick, he succeeded in landing his j machin e und; imaged behind our lines. On another occasion, when on patrol, he engaged the leader of a hostile formation and drove h m down Though he suffered from engine trouble, he "n ? succeeded in driving off another e«y sco»t whr ch had attacked him. This officer’s tenacity and pluck are wortny °f Temp .^Second Lieutenant C. F. Nathan, required RFC —As observer, when information was urgently reqmrea during an attack, and several attempts to obtain it had been unsuccessful owing to exceptionally bad weathcr conchL ^ he went out with his pilot and succeeded in gaining tne necessary information, flying at a height of about 50 feet und Sc and machine gSn fire He bad already ^mad^a flight under similar conditions on the same day. He s great courage and determination. ... Lieutenant E. T. Owles. Royal Irish Reserve and R.F.C.— He made a successful wire reconnaissance along a corps front at a height of 300 feet to 800 feet un 470

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May z. i9i8. heavy machine gun and rifle fae . Ok another occasion while on a reconnoitring patrol he had four encounters with enemy aeroplanes, in one of which he was afctaoted at goo feet by five enCmy scouts. By his clever manoeuvring the enemy machines were driven off, and he completed a valuable reconnaissance. He showed the greatest keenness and ■determination at his work. Temp. Lieutenant {Temp. Captain) A. H. Peck. General List and R.F.C. — He engaged single-handed three enemy aero- planes, though they had superior height. He drove them back over their lines and prevented them from carrying out their reconnaissance. Lieutenant S. L. Quine, Cheshire Regiment, Special Reserve and R.F.C. — He went out in exceptionally rough and stormy weather during an attack, and, flying very low over the enemy s batteries, reported and located those which were in action. By his courageous and determined eflorts he assisted materially in clearing up the situation and enabled -effective fire to be brought to bear on the enemy's batteries. Temp. Second Lieutenant K. G. Sclanders, General List and R.F.C.— He carried out two most important photo- graphic reconnaissances of the enemy's position under intense anti-aircraft fire. Temp. Second Lieutenant D. H. Sessions, General last and R.F.C. — During two months he did m hours’ flying on artillery work, often under heavy anti-aircraft fire. He constantly observed most successfully for the artillery, causing direct hits on gun pits, fires, and explosions. Temp. Lieutenant (Temp. Captain) J. B. Solomon, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry and R.F.C. — He carried out a patrol lasting nearly three hours in a very high wind and low clouds, flying at an average height of 500 feet, and brought back a valuable report. During this flight he attacked and drove down an enemy two-seater machine under heavy rifle and machine gun fire from the ground . He also made a valuable reconnaissance in very bad weather, flying at an average height of 100 feet under heavy rifle and machine gun fire, in the course of which he engaged a hostile battery with his machine gun. He set a splendid example of courage and determination. Temp. Lieutenant A. J. Tyler, General List and R.F.C. — He took an active part in several engagements. He went up in all weathers and located many enemy batteries. He showed splendid determination and resource when under heavy fire. Second Lieutenant (Temp. Lieutenant) L. B. Williams, General List and R.F.C. — During an attack with machine guns and bombs on enemy infantry he displayed great courage and endurance in spite of very adverse weather conditions, which caused the machines to become separated in the fog. Observing a hostile battery in action he released bombs on it, one of which was observed to be a direct hit. Afterwards, whilst continuing his attacks on the enemy front trenches, his main plane was blown away, and his machine crashed to earth in the open. Being wounded, he lay there unable to move, but was eventually rescued. This officer has always shown himself full of zeal, determination and courage. Lieutenant J. H. G. Womersley, R.G.A. and R.F.C. — In aerial fighting he brought down four enemy machines and forced others to land. He also carried out reconnaissances at a low altitude. Captain and Flight Commander S. I. Winter-Irving, Aus. F.C. — When acting as escort during a reconnaissance he repeatedly attacked and drove ofl single-handed a forma- tion of three enemy aeroplanes, thereby enabling a most valuable reconnaissance to be made. The following award of the Military Cross was gazetted on October 27th. 1917 : — Captain W. Smith, London Regiment and R.F.C. — For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in 32 long-distance bomb raids, many of which were carried out under very unfavourable weather conditions. M.Ms. for the R.F.C. It was announced in a supplement to the London Gazette on April 25th that the King has been pleased to approve of the award of the Military Medal for bravery in the field to the following : — 4909 1st Air-Mech. S. L. Bennington, R.F.C. 1429 Scrgt. E. J. Elton, R.F.C. 14374 Sergt. H. W. Scamell, R.F.C. Albert Medal Awards. It was announced in the London Gazette of April 26th that the King has been pleased to award the Albert Medal to the following in recognition of gallantry displayed ia endeavouring to save life : — Flight-Sergeant Albert Edgar Warne, 24th Wing Aero- plane Repair Section, and Flight-Sergeant Horace Cannon, No. 50 Training Squadron. — On January 26th last, while flying in England, a pilot when attempting to land lost control of his machine, which crashed to the ground from a height of about 150 feet, and burst into flames. Flight-Sergeants Warne and Cannon went to the Rescue of the pilot at great personal risk, as one tank of petrol blew up and another was on fire ; moreover, the machine was equipped with a belt of live cartridges, which they dragged out of the flames. They managed to extricate the pilot, who was strapped to the burning plane, but he died shortly afterwards from his injuries and burns. THE RESIGNATION OF LORD ROTHERMERE. The following correspondence has passed between Lord Rothermcre and the Prime Minister : — “ Hemsted, Benenden, Kent, April 25th, 1918. " My dear Prime Minister, — I desire to relinquish my office as Secretary of State of the Air Force at the earliest possible date. " The Royal Air Force is now one of the three established fighting services of the Crown. The fusion of the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps has been suc- cessfully accomplished. " At times I have thought I would not be able to accompany the new force so far. My second tragic loss in the war 10 weeks since, caused, and causes, me great distress of mind and body. Every day the burden of work and responsibility seemed crushing, and I was suffering much from ill-health and insomnia. “ I felt, as I told you, my urgent primary duty to the Government and the nation required me to remain, if at all physically possible, until the date of the fusion and such time after as would suffice to establish the success of the amalgama- tion. My departure before might have gravely deranged what is now one of the nation’s arms of war, and have jeopardized the success of the whole scheme. “ Lately I thought I might be able to remain, but a recur- rence of bronchial trouble, with insomnia, effectually prevents this. " I have entered into these particulars because I wish you to know the difficulties under which I have been working. “ I cannot close this letter without an expression of my great regard and respect. ** Yours very faithfully, *' Rothermere.” “ 10, Downing Street, S.W.i, April 25th, 1918. “ My dear Rothennere, — I have received your letter tendering your resignation as Secretary of State for the Air Force with the deepest regret. Your work there has been of inestimable service to the nation, and time will bring with it a full recognition of your achievement. It is no small thing to have taken over the conduct of an entirely new arm of the Service in the middle of a great war, to have extricated it from the difficulties which surrounded it, co- ordinated the two Services which made it up, and bestowed on its administration an initiative which has given the new force a real supremacy at the front. And all this has been done in such a brief period of time. ** It is the more to be lamented that, having set the Ministry on its legs, you cannot remain to enjoy the fruition of your own brilliant work. But I feel, on reading your letter, that I cannot press you to stay, much as the Government must suffer from vour retirement. ** Your sacrifices to the national cause have been so heavy, and the strain imposed on you so cruel, that it would be impossible to deny you the right to some repose. Sympathy in these matters is generally best given by silence, but I am sure that you know without my telling, how much I sympathize with you in your losses and in the way in which you have continued your public duties in spite of everything. ** No Minister ever had greater difficulties to contend with than you had in effecting the fusion of the two services, and the Air Force has every right to be proud of its First Secretary of State. “ I am authorized by my colleagues to state that they share fully the views I have expressed in this letter. “ Yours very faithfully, " D. Lloyd George." 47 1

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May 2, 1918. THE, FOKKER TRIPLANE. [ Just as we have completed, the preparation of our data for an illustrated description of the Fokker triplane which is now exhibited at the Enemy Aircraft View Rooms, we receive from the Technical Department of the Air- craft Production Department of the Ministry of Munitions an official report on this machine. The report is somewhat brief, possibly owing to the fact that the design is now said to have been discontinued. That the German “ Ace “ Freiherr vou Richthofen should have chosen for his favourite mount a Fokker triplane after this machine had been turned down by the authorities need not cause any surprise, and only goes to prove that this is not the only country in which opinions may differ as to what is or is not a safe and suitable design. We do not mean to infer that the machine on which the famous German pilot met his death was necessarily identical with the one here under review, which was built during the latter part of last year, and of which we have already published a brief description in our issue of March 14 th. As a matter of fad the probabilities are that there were considerable differences. But thereby hangs a tale, which is recorded elsewhere in this issue. To return to the official report on the Fokker triplane . It is apparent, from a paragraph on the cover, that the authorities feel called upon to apologise for Ihe brevity of the report, and it is stated that the report is issued for information, “ though it is felt that the machine exhibits few instructive features.” This is a policy with which we canned in any way agree. It may happen — and, we think, very frequently does happen — that a thing which has proved a failure is very often far more instructive than one which was a success. After all there is always a tendency for anything successful to engender imitation, whereas failure tends to stimulate original thought which may in time lead to the production of something really good. Moreover, to come down to a specific case, although this particular design may have proved itself bad, who will venture to say that it may not contain the germ of an idea which someone may be clever enough to grasp and to turn to good account ?' We therefore propose to deal with this machine in our own particular manner and as fully as seems necessary, hoping that it will prove as interesting and instructive as our numerous correspondents have been good enough to tell us our previous articles of this nature have been. — Ed.] The Fokker triplane is chiefly remarkable on account of its total absence of external lift bracing, but offers, on closer examination, a number of construc- tional details, some good, some indifferent, and some frankly bad, but always interesting, which are well worth a careful study. It appears that, generally speaking, German designers either try to do without metal altogether, or else go to the other extreme and use it exclusively. In the latter case it will often be found that welding is very extensively employed, not belong exclusively to either school, but is in- fluenced by both. That is to say, he seems to have incorporated in his design the extremes of both schools. Where he uses metal he uses it exclusively and throws in a profundity of welded joints, and where wood takes his fancy he goes to considerable trouble to circumvent the difficulties attending wood construction, simply to be able to use wood where in many cases metal would have offered a much simpler solution. The explanation may be that den Heer 0 0 0 0 0 Getting Ready to Start. — A pair of Fokker triplunes in their native land. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 even on jobs for which it is least suitable, as, for instance, fittings working in tension. This gives one the impression that German designers are divided into two schools. One. which does not trust welded joints and therefore attempts to do without metal as far as possible ; and the other, being " all out for metal,” which appears to have a childlike faith in the skill of their welders and uses welded joints in and out of place. The Fokker triplane indicates that its designer does Fokker commenced his aeronautical career as a disciple of the all-metal school — his old monoplane was, it may be remembeied, built almost exclusively of steel — but is beginning to lean towards the all-wood school, whether by inclination or because of the con- ditions prevailing at present one cannot say. It is in the wing structure that the wood construction pre- dominates, while the body is built entirely of steel. In conformity with his past preferences, Fokker has employed steel tubing throughout in the con- 472

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M SSHl AREA OF MAIN PLANES /89,/!2 Sa.Fr. AREA OF ELEVATORS 9 £ Sa Fr. FOKKEFL % <N N -4- - <5TT. TTT.TTTT t «

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Fig. 2.— Sketch s how in £ the bracing system employed In the body of the Fok- ktir triplane. The wires only j appear to be in dupljpfate. Inset shows tubular quadrant serving us an anchoruge forall the bracing struction of the fuselage of his triplanc. The longerons, struts and cross members are all made of this material, the diameter of the tubing employed varying somewhat locally according to the different stresses. Probably the gauge of the tubes varies also, but this we have not been able to verify, as none of the tubular members are cut through on the machine exhibited. The general arrangement of the body of the Fokker triplane is shown in Fig. i in plan and side elevation. It will be noticed that the lower longerons nare a rather abrupt upward bend just behind > where the spar of the lower wing is attac that secondary longerons are employed for ’ the continuity of the curve from this po engine plate. At the rear the top Ion ± dropped a matter of a couple of inches to acewj the tail plane, much after the manner orTra^cy Deperdussin monoplanes. In section the main body is rectangular, while the 0H000000 0 0 0 0 0 m 0 0 0 0 0 The Fokker tri- 0 plane in flight. 0

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i 121 h.p., the 120 being provided by the motor Wheeling a Fok* ker triplane out on the aero- drome. front portion carries in addition superstructures on each wire. From the point of view of rapid pro- top and sides, which carry the circular section near duction the gain thus effected cannot be considerable, the engine gradually into the flat sides and top of while the saving in weight could only amount to a the rear part. As regards the detail construction, very few pounds in the whole body. Against this we •nuts and cross members are butt-welded to the have the weakness due to the fact that if one part of gubular longerons. This does not impress one as a the wire breaks — whether the part with the wire particularly good arrangement, since the effect of vibra- strainer or the plain part matters little — the whole t ion on the welded joints may easily become serious. strength is gone, since the wire would, as soon as If the method of joining the members of the subjected tu a tension of a few pounds, pull around fuselage structure is open to criticism, the arrange- the tubular anchorage. Another point suggests itself f the bracing system is even more so. As briefly when examining the body bracing. When tuned up J ( out in our previous notes on the Fokker the tension in the ware is probably uneven, the plain ^ ; the bracing wires of the body have the part of each wire being tensioned to a less extent than I pe of being in duplicate, but are in effect the length incorporating the strainer, owing to fric- 1 ! they are merely looped around the tubular tion between the loop of the wire and the terminal (J. • * forming the standard terminal at the tubular quadrant. In certain instances this wire s . i i of struts and longerons. The details of this attachment has been varied to suit local requirements, Urrangement will be more easily understood from but everywhere where other considerations do not reference to Fig. 2. It will be seen that the only have to be taken into account the anchorage and advantage gained by having the bracing wires so wiring is as shown in Fig. 2. arranged is a saving of two loops and two ferrules in (To be continued.) Transfers to the R.A.F. An A 'mv Council Instruction just issued sets forth the procedure in regard to officers and ex-officers desirous of transfer to the R.A.F. An officer sending with a unit at home? desirous of transfer to the Royal Air Force as a flying officer will apply personally and with the written consent of his C.O. to the nearest Royal Air Force Reception Dep6t . On arrival at the reception Depot the officer will be inter- viewed by an interviewing officer. Royal Air Force, and if considered suitable will be directed to attend the Aviation Candidates Medical Hoard at Hampstead. For this purpose a return warrant will be issued , but no allowances for travelling will be admissible. The officer will report to his unit immediately after medical examination. If found suitable for flying duties he will take with him a copy of the result of his medical examination and submit through his C.O. an official application for transfer to the Royal Air Force. This application, if approved, will be forwarded by the Command t o the O.C., local Royal Air Force Reception Dep6i, tor despatch to the Director of Air Personal Services, who, in the case of a suitable candidate, will apply to the War Office for the officer's services. Am officer serving with an Expeditionary Force in Europe will apply through his C.O. and will be interviewed by a Royal Air Force officer with the Expeditionary Force. If considered suitable he will be sent home with orders in writing to report to the O.C. Iamdon Reception Dcpdt Royal Air Force, 40, Up|U •jpk Street, London. W.i, who will arrange for his ' by the Aviation Candidates Medical board and fluent disposal by the Director of Air Personal An officer serving in the Middle East or India will be entirely dealt with in Egypt or India. An officer who is at home but not on the strength 0/ a unit at home or abroad will apply in the first instance to the O.C. London Reception Dcp6t. Royal Air Force, 40, Upper Brook Street, W.i, and will not require a letter from a C.O. On passing the medical examination his case will be sent forward by the O.C. London Reception Dep6t to the Director of Air Personal Services, who in the case of a suitable candidate will apply to the War Office for his services. An officer who is at home but whose unit is abroad may, if he can produce the written consent of his C.O., apply as in the preceding paragraph, and will be dealt with in the manner there laid down. The procedure for candidates for appointments other than as flying officers will be as above, except that candidates will not be required to appear before the Aviation Candidates Medical Board. State Control of Timber Imports. UNDER the Timber Order. 1918. issued on April 26th by the Board of Trade, timber dealers must obtain permits in respect of timber grown outside the United Kingdom. It is anticipated that the Order will be followed before long by another, regulating not only dealing in timber, but also its use in this country, whether grown outside or inside the United Kingdom. Virtually the entire importation of timber will be effected on account of the Government. The present Order is not designed to interfere with the normal business of firms established in the Dominions or Colonies as timber producers, but is intended to prevent specu- lative transactions in timber in the countrie of origin by or on behalf of persons in the United Kingdom. r

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May 2, 1918. I &ero Club — — the United Kir^gdoird OFFICIAl NOTICES TO MEMKtlRS Ml THE FLYING SERVICES FUND. {Registered, under the War Charities Act,' 1916.) HONORARY TREASURER : ] The Right Hon. LORD KINNA1RD. COMMITTEE : Brig.-Gen. W. W. WARNER. R.A.F. (Chairman). Mr. CHESTER FOX. Lieut. -Col. HARC.OURT G. GOLD, R.A.F. Major T. O’B. HUBBARD. M.C.. R.A.F. Squad. -Com. C. E. MAUDE, R.N. 5 SECRETARY : Lieut. -Com.' H. E. PERRIN, R.N.V.R. BANKERS : Messrs. BARCLAY’S [BANK, [Ltd,, 4. Pall Mall East, London. S.W.j, OBJECTS.* The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty and the Army Council having signified their approval, THE ROYAL AERO CLUB has instituted and is administering this Fund for the benefit of Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Men of the Royal Air Forces who are incapacitated on active sendee, and for the widows and dependents of those who are killed. FLYING SERVICES FUND COMMITTEE. A Meeting of the Flying Services Fund Committee was held on Thursday, April 25th, J918, when there were present : — Brig.-Gen. W. W. Warner, R.A.F., in the Chair, Mr. Chester Fcx, Lieut .-Col. Harcourt G. Gold, R.A.F., and Lieut .-Commander H. E. Perrin, R.N.V.R., Secretary. Grants and Allowances. — The following Grants and Allowances were made : — (58) An allowance of £4 a month for three months to the widow of an Air Mechanic in the Royal Naval Air Service who had died from injuries caused through an accident while on duty. (35) An allowance' of £4 a month for six months to the father of a First Class Air Mechanic in the Royal Flying Corps who was killed on active service. (53) An allowance of £4 a month for twelve months to the mother of a Leading M< chanic in the Royal Naval Air Service who was accidentally killed on active service. (30) An allowance of £4 a month tor three months to a Second Class Air Mechanic in the Rcyal Flying Corps who had been incapacitated on active service. (39) An allowance of £5 a month for six months to a Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Naval Air Service who had been incapacitated on active service. (51) An allowance of £2 a month for twelve months to the widow of a Sergeant in the Royal Flying Corps who had died from injuries received on active service. (33) An allowance of £2 a month for twelve months to the widow of a Second Class Air Mechanic in the Royal Flying Corps who was killed on active service. (47) An allowance of £4 a month for six months to the widow of a Corporal in the Royal Flying Corps who had died from injuries received in an aeroplane accident. (36) An allowance of £5 a month for twelve months to the widow of a Leading Mechanic in the Royal Naval Air Service who was killed on active service. (61) A Grant of £5 to the mother of a 2nd Lieu- tenant who was killed on active service. (63) An allowance of £2 a month for twelve months to the widow of a First Class Air Mechanic in the Royal Flying Corps who had died from wounds received on active service. I1 Offices: THE ROYAL AERO CLUB, 3, CLIFFORD STREET, LONDON, W. I. 477

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May 2. 1918. THE R.F.C. HOSPITAL GRAMOPHONE FUND. The response to our appeal last week for the necessary funds for presenting a gramophone and records to the R.F.C. Hospital at Hampstead, at the desire of the Chief of the Medical Staff, has been very grati- fying, for which we have to thank those who have risen to the occasion, and as speedily as possible the instrument will be forwarded to the Hospital for the benefit of the very patient patients lying there recovering from their grievous wounds. Following are the further subscriptions to hand at the time of closing the Fund : — Already Acknowledged W. Ridley Prentice . . Cellon Ltd., per Mr. A. J. A. Wallace Barr The Daimler Co., Ltd. E. Unwin Barimar, Ltd., per Mr. C. W. Brett Lieut.-Col. Mervyn O’Gorman Hon. Lady Eleanor Shelley-Rolls .. Reginald Delpech (Triplex Safety Glass Co., Ltd Robert W. Coan E. C. Gordon England . . , . , , Henry Edmunds Lieut. J. W. Hart, R.A.F H. T. Vane, M.B.E Five Shillings each : — Lieut. Percy H. Burt, Mrs. A. Bull ; G. H. Hawkins, W. Moss ; H. 2s. 6 d. each : — H. Mudd ; Mrs. Carter.. Two shillings each : — E. Walkcrdine ; Mrs. Tatham Miss Viola BaUantine One shilling each ; Mrs. Yorke ; M. Morice Shillings I *34 ) R.A.F Jones *05 105 105 1 00 42 42 40 21 21 80 20 IO IO 25 5 6 2 In all cases expressions of generous sympathy accompanied the contributions. Just by way of example, the following speaks for itself : — “ I am sending you — shillings personally, and not from either of my firms, for I feel the pleasure of contributing to such a fund so keenly that I am too selfish to share that pleasure with anyone else. I well remember the dull time 1 myself had lying in hospital when I nearly broke my neck in September. 1911 111" Again : — “ As one of your earliest readers I have much pleasure in responding to your appeal. Enclosed find — shillings. I would it were more, but you know how many and frequent are the demands on one's over-taxed income just now." Just another, this time from a very young West Hartlepool girl, who, in addition to a subscription and a very sympathetic letter, sets out her feelings in the following little brace of stanzas : — The British Airman. Up, high up in the boundless sky. The airman flies on his lonely way, A thousand trials are his, unknown To those who on earth do stay. Yet never he falters, nor shirks his task. His brave heart knows no craven fears. Though his hands be frozen to the wheel. And shells burst round him as he steers. Hourly his life the airman risks. And untold suffering oft he knows. And bears it all for England’s sake, That conquered shall be England’s foes. All ye who stay upon the ground, Nor know the perils of the air, Be grateful to our airmen who For us so many dangers dare. V.B. And last, but not least, we have to especially tender our thanks to Sir Charles Wakefield, who, immediately his attention was directed to the appeal, gave instructions to subscribe the full amount necessary to carry out the object of the appeal. This very generous offer— needless to say — we have taken advantage of, but in a modified form, as we felt that it would be a great disappointment to those who have already come forward with their subscrip- tions, to have their contributions towards so good a cause denied. We therefore are trespassing upon Sir Charles’ generosity to the extent ol any dif- ference that may be required to make up the amount between the full cost and the amount of the individual subscriptions. The amount in hand will therefore enable us to supply also a more generous selection of records to accompany the instrument itself. BBSS THE ROLE OF HONOUR. The following casualties in the Royal Air Force are announced : — Killed. Lieut. O. P. Adam, R.A.F. Lieut. F. E. Banbury, Gen. List and R.A.F. 2nd Lieut. D. Christie, Gen. List and R.A.F. Lieut. C. G. Jacob, Gen. List and R.A.F. Lieut. E. D. Jones, Gen. List and R.A.F. 2nd Lieut. W. Smith. E. Lancs. R., attd. R.A.F. 2nd Lieut. Gordon Spier. Gen. List and R.A.F. Lieut. R. Stonehouse, A.S.C. (T.F.) attd. R.A.F. 2nd Lieut. C. M. Swain, Gen. List and R.A.F. 2nd Lieut. S. W. Swainc. R.F.A., attd. R.A.F. 2nd Lieut. Cecil Wilson, Gen. List and R.A.F. Wounded. 2nd Lieut. J. Y. Baird. Scot. Rif. (T.F.), attd. R.A.F. Lieut. C. H. Brown, Liverpool Regt. (T.F.) attd. R.A.F. 2nd Lieut. D. G. Brown, Gen. List and R.A.F. 2nd Lieut. G. J. Gaynor, S. Irish Horse, attd. R.A.F. 2nd Lieut. P. Hardy, Gen. List and R.A.F. 2nd Lieut. H. V. Lewis, S. Wales Bord., and R.A.F. Lieut. D. MacLean, Gen. List and R.A.F. 2nd Lieut. A. E. Sweeting, Gen. List and R.A.F. Accidentally Injured. 2nd Lieut. R. Smith, Gen. List and R.A.F. Missing. 2nd Lieut. E. Betley, R.G.A. (S.R.), attd. R.A.F. 2nd Lieut. C. B. Coleman, Oxf. and Bucks L.I., attd. R-A-E. Lieut. W. C. F. N. Hart. R. Lancs. Regt.. attd. R.A.F. 2nd Lieut. B. McPherson, Gen. List and R.A.F. 2nd Lieut. E. S. C. Pearce, Gen. List and R.A.F. Capt. P. D. Robinson, M.C., R.F.C. (S.R.). 2nd Lie ut. J. B. Taylor. Gen. List and R.A.F. 2nd Lie ut. D. P. Trollip, Gen. List and R.A.F. The following is announced by the Admiraltyjby arrangement with the Air Ministry : — Missing (believed Killed). Lieut.-Col. F. A. Brock, R.A.F. (Acting Wing-Commander, R.N.). The following are reported by the War Office : — Killed. Capt. E. W. Moule, London, attd. R.F.C. Previously reported Prisoner, now reported Died of Wounds as Prisoner in Austrian hands. 2nd Lieut. F. D. C. Gore, R.F.C. AccidentaUy Killed. 2nd Lieut. C. W. Hay, Aus. F.C. Wounded. 2nd Lieut. A. W. Fraser, R.F.C. Lieut. A. H. McLachlan, Can. Ry. Troops, attd. R.F.C. 2nd Lieut. G. F. Moseley, R.F.C. 2nd Lieut. E. A. Richardson, R.F.C. Capt. A. Roulstone, M.C., R.F.C. Lieut. J. G. Sharp, M.C., R.G.A., attd. R.F.C. 2nd Lieut. C. J. Wilsdon, R.F.C. Missing. Capt. E. Z. Agar, Alta. Regt., attd. R.F.C. 2nd Lieut. H. Carbines, Kong’s (L’pool), attd. R.F.C. Lieut. J. C. Courtney, Aus. F.C. Lieut. A. C. Dean, Cent. Ont. Regt., attd. R.F.C. Lieut. A. Jerrard. S. Staffs and R.F.C. Lieut. C. M. McCann, Can. M.G.C., attd. R.F.C. Lieut. G. A. Mercer, Can. Cyc. Corps., attd. R.F.C. 2nd Lieut. J. K. von I. Peden, R.F.A., attd. R.F.C. Lieut. F. S. Woolhouse, Aus. F.C. 478

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Ei S3 THE MODERN AEROPLANE. By F. S. BARNWELL, Captain, R.F.C. (Continued from page 451.) Wf. must now consider the body (Fig. 7). This is generally a tapered box girder, with wooden longitudinals and struts, and steel wire tie rods ; it is generally almost totally covered with fabric. It is the member which presents the greatest of the differences which exist between the two principal types REACTION on torpedo FORM. t-U»DE uw To Queuing SgCTtQw Hi APPtTiQMAlVAlRlNe1 top plan. BODY GIRDER. of present-day aeroplanes — the tractor and the pusher. It is perhaps as well at this point to consider the comparative merits of the tractor and pusher types (Fig. 8). For the same conditions we can almost invariably get a better performance from a tractor than from a pusher. The shorter body of the pusher is almost necessarily of worse form for drag than the longer body of the tractor, particularly because with the engine at its rear end, it is almost impossible to get this nicely faired off. So, though the body of the tractor is in the slip stream from the air screw and that of the pusher is not, the body drag is nearly always lower in the tractor type. Further, in the pusher type, we have the additional tail carrying girder. This girder is necessarily composed of rather long lengths of tail booms, struts and tie wires, and therefore itself offers considerable drag. The weights of the two types, for the same strength, work out much the same ; possibly the pusher can be made slightly lighter. So, with the same engine and useful load, of course, the climb of a pusher will be very little worse than a tractor, the greater drag being somewhat compensated for by the slightly lower total weight ; but the speed of the pusher will be considerably lower. Generally speaking, the view forwards, upwards and downwards is better in the pusher than in the tractor, for a single-seated machine. For a two-seater, how- ever, the all-round view of pilot and passenger combined, may, by suitable placing of them and of the aerofoils, be made about equally good (or bad) in either type. Considering the convenience for machine-guns, with which practically all modern aeroplanes must be fitted — to fire straight ahead, the gun, on a tractor, must be fitted with an " Interrupter gear,'* and it must be fixed, as it is impracticable to swing it about when connected to the interrupter gear. The interrupter gear itself weighs anything from 5 to 20 lbs., and is an additional complication. It is a mechanism by which the trigger of the gun is automatically pressed just as a 479

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May 2, 1918. isms blade of the air screw is passing the line of fire, the lag of the gun mechanism and of the bullet then allows for the bullet's passing between this blade and the next one coming round. The gear is usually made up of a cam on the air screw hub or driven elsewhere by the engine, working a tappet which, Dy means of sundry bell cranks and pull or push rods, operates the trigger of the machine gun. Some form of toggle or trip device, is incorporated, and is worked by a Bowden lever attached to the pilot’s control lever, so that the gear is nor- mally thrown out of action until the pilot presses this lever. 1 be pusher machine is as bad for firing astern as is the tractor for firing ahead. But to revert to the consideration of the body. I shall only deal with that of a tractor, as much the same considera- tions are involved in that of a pusher. The body must be deep enough to afford ample protection to the pilot and gunner, 36 in. is about the minimum. It must be wide enough to allow ample room to work the guns, 30 in. is about the minimum. So the body is an item of large cross sectional area, and is the part of an aeroplane which individually offers 1 u - 8fea*es^ " ^‘dual ” drag. It is the part of an aeroplane which calls for the greatest number of conflicting requirements. It must be as small as possible and have as few openings as possible to keep its drag as small as possible . It must be large enough to contain, with workable room, the pilot, gunner, tanks, ammunition, instruments, &c., yet the wider it is the worse the view. It must have openings of size sufficient to get in and out of easily, and generally the opening must be large enough to allow of a machine gun fitted upon a rotating orm of mounting. “ The form of body which offers the lowest drag per square foot of cross sectional area, is a torpedo shape of length equal ^JWith a rotary engined tractor aeroplane, of which the nose is necessarily a circular -section covering, or cowl, round the engine, it does pay to continue this circular section well along the body, otherwise there will be a greatly increased drag due to the sudden “falling in ’’ from the circular section cowl to the inscribed rectangular section body. I shall consider the landing gear very briefly as at present it is probably the most standard member of an aeroplane (Fig. 9). The landing gear may be considered in two parts, the “ main under carriage ” and the “ tail skid.” .The main under carriage ’* is almost invariably two- wheeled. These wheels must be far enough apart to give sufficient stability for “ taxying ’’ across a strong wind, they must be far enough ahead of the centre of gravity of the whole aeroplane to prevent of its pitching on to its nose too readily, but they must not be too far ahead or we get an aeroplane difficult to land without bouncing, and very apt to " swing " cJla^e its tail ” when taxying. The distance apart, 01- track of the wheels is seldom less than 4 or more than 6 ft., and the best distance for them ahead of the centre of gravity (for a normal machine) lies between 8 in. and 14 in. The wheels are of a specially light wire-spoked type, with pneumatic tyres, very long hubs to give transverse strength , and fabric discs attached over the spokes to reduce drag. The rim is generally offset as far as possible towards the inner end of the hub to reduce the bending moment on the axle. Indiarubber is almost invariably used for shock absorbing at present. It is capable of absorbing more work per lb. weight than any other substance, and in the form gener- ally employed for aeroplane shock absorbers, that is, braided elastic cord of about 5 in. diam., it is extremely simple to fit, to vary and to renew. continuous axle type NO AXLE FAIRING MAmNWma.i. MAIN LANPIN<S GEAR ‘VEE* TYPES. F 16. 9- tc about five times its greatest diameter. A body of this form may have as low a drag as 1 lb. per square foot of cross sectional area, at a speed of 100 ft. per second. The corres- ponding resistance of the bodies of modern fighting aeroplanes is from about 3 to 7 lbs. per square foot, because they are necessarily compromises. A final point to note about the body is that it is usually instable, in the “ weather cock ” sense. If a torpedo form have its axis inclined at a small angle to its direction of motion, there will be of course a certain total reaction force on it, and the line of action of this force will be very near its nose (perhaps in front of it) ; that is, will be ahead of the centre of gravity of the torpedo and will tend to swing its axis to a still greater angle to the direction of motion. Now the body of an aeroplane is generally sufficiently nearly of torpedo form to render it instable in this way, and this must be taken into account in dealing with the question of stability. The bodies of most modem machines are of a rectangular cross section, as this is the lightest shape for strength and is the most simple to make. It is also the most economical shape for stowing things into, and is the most convenient form to which to attach the other members of the aeroplane. It probably does not pay, unless a rotary engine be employed, to transform a rectangular or square section body, by the addition of a light fairing structure, in to a round section ; for it adds weight, and adds flimsy parts where such are very likely to be roughly handled, whilst the drag of the larger section round body thus made up is about the same as that of the smaller inscribed rectangular or square section. The tendency at present is to keep the under carriage as simple as possible, in order to reduce weight and drag. Hence the almost universal adoption of the “ Vee type.” The axle is sometimes a plain continuous tube, sometimes it is of the “ divided type,’’ that is, it is in two parts, one for each wheel ; the inner ends of these two parts being mounted on horizontal hinge pins connected to the cross members near their centre. The latter method allows of a lighter axle, as the bending moment falls from a maximum at tlie shock absorber to zero at the hinged inner end, so that the two axle tribes may be tapered in strength and therefore in weight. The plain continuous tube axle on the other hand is sub- jected to the same maximum bending moment for its whole length between the shock absorbers and so must be of uniform strength and weight throughout its length. It is, however, a simpler structure and works out little heavier than the divided type. It should be noted that in the “ divided type ” an additional tension wire must be led from the body to the centre of the cross members, otherwise the push of the inner ends of the axle will tend to bow these cross members down- wards. (To be continued.) * * * ft Aerial Mails from Denmark. A Danish aeronautic company has been formed with a share capital of £iri .000, with the object of establishing an air route after the war between Copenhagen, Esbjerg and London, the route to be connected with other Scandina- vian air routes. 48O

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■ran May 2, 1916. it TRADE PARLIAMENTS AND THEIR WORK. By ERNEST J. P. BENN, Chairman Industrial Reconstruction Council. II.— ORGANISING Before proceeding to consider the formation of Joint Stand- ing Industrial Councils.Trade Parliaments, or Whitley Councils, as they are variously described, it may be well to glance very briefly at existing trade organisations and to have our minds clear as to the place that will be occupied by the very large class of new bodies which it is proposed to create. There never were so many trade organisations as there are to-day, and one would be inclined to imagine that every possible function was covered by existing bodies. There is, unfortunately, a great deal of overlapping, a certain amount of competition, and considerable confusion among trade associations as we now know them. To begin with, seeing that the essence of the association movement is the limita- tion of competition, it ought to be agreed on all hands that there should be no unnecessary competition between associa- tions. Associations should be made to take the medicine which they so freely prescribe to their members, and go in for a strict system of specialisation, so that each has a special function and carefully avoids encroachment upon, the functions of others. Much of the confusion and difficulty that now arises between different kinds of associations is due to the fact that few of them can resist the temptation continually to enlarge their functions, whereas they should concentrate the whole of their attention on the special objects that brought their members together. The aim of these bodies is to reduce competition as between traders and as between Capital and Labour, and we must be very careful that we do not substitute another and a worse form of competition, as between organisa- tions. There are various forms of commercial organisation which are obviously necessary to the health and well-being of each industry. 1. First of all comes the professional or scientific organisa- tion, which will deal exclusively with the theory of the practical side of the business. 2. Perhaps next in importance is the Employers’ Federation, such as those in engineering, shipping, building, and the new " National," These exist, or should exist, for the one and only purpose of carrying on negotiations with Labour. 3. Next come what might be called " Development As- sociations," such as the British Engineers’ Association and the Machine Tool Association. These are concerned with the development of the commercial side of their businesses, and they surely have enough to do. 4. Then we come to Chambers of Commerce, which, like employers' federations, accept members from more than one trade, and whose functions may be described as largely local. It is to the Chambers of Commerce that one looks for protection and assistance in those matters which concern the trade of a locality rather than any particular industry. Chambers of Commerce, of course, are specially concerned with the important interests of the merchants, factors, brokers, and importers and exporters. All the above are bodies of a permanent character, whose functions will continue so long as trade continues. There is, in addition, another class of organisation which has sprung into being as the result of the war, and whose functions are simply propagandist. Of this class the more we have the

ORGANISATIONS. better. It is one of the healthiest'and most promising signs that there should be a large number of organisations preaching various forms of trade development and trade improvement. In this connection may be specially mentioned the new Industrial Reconstruction Council, which is to preach the doctrine of trade self-government, the Industrial League, and the National Alliance of Employers and Employed, whose avowed objects are the bringing together of capital and labour. There are also many bodies, such as the Labour Co-partnership Association and others, which are out to preach profit-sharing, the prevention of bribery and corruption, currency reform, Free Trade, Tariff Reform, early closing, and quite a number of other special subjects. This class differs from those mentioned above in that no objection can be taken to its indefinite multiplication. The more people with ideas are encouraged to go out and preach them the better for trade and industry generally. 5. After these comes a group of organisations, of which the Federation . of British Industries is . the best example, which are concerned with general and national commercial problems. Matters like financial facilities, relations between Government Departments and trade, legislation affecting industry, shipping, railways and the like, are exclusively the province of this sort of association. 6. We then come to a very large group of retail organisa- tions, and 7. Lastly, but by no means least important, protection associations, whose only function is the giving of advice on credit and the collection of accounts. There are, therefore, no less than seven classes of trade organisations, each class having its special functions, and in the work of re-arranging and co-ordinating most of these bodies — a work which is now urgent and imperative — it should be understood that each association would confine its activities to those functions which properly come within its class. We are. of course, only talking here of what are known as employers’ associations. The question is further complicated by the sub-divisions which exist between trade- unions — the craft union, the industrial union, and the local union. Whitley Councils will take into their consideration subjects which belong to several of the above classes of associations. The difference between a Whitley Council and a Development Association is simply that the Council is a joint body on which Labour and Capital are equally represented, while a Develop- ment Association confines its membership to employers, and will naturally consider only the employers’ point of view. The Whitley Council should have among its members repre- sentatives of nearly all the different classes of trade organisa- tions if it is to perform its functions in the most thorough manner. It will in most trades probably ignore the retail and the protection bodies mentioned in 6 and 7 above ; it will certainly ignore the Chambers of Commerce except in so far as they may possess special sections for special trades, and it will also ignore employers' federations where thesi- bodies are constituted upon a local rather than an industrial basis. (To be continued.) ❖ ❖ The King and Queen at an Aircraft Factory. Ix was announced in the Court Circular of April 26th that the King and Queen, accompanied by the Princess Mary, and attended by Captain B. Godfrey-Faussctt, R.N., and the Earl of Cromer, visited the works of Messrs. Gordon Watney and Co., Ltd., on the morning of that day. Their Majesties were received, and were conducted round the works, by the Hon. H. C. Butler, Chairman, Major Gordon Watney, Managing Director, and the officials of the company. Lieut. -Col. I. B. Davson was also in attendance, representing the Aircraft Production Department of the Ministry of Munitions. From Germany to Holland. The following officers who were prisoners of war in Germany, have arrived in Holland for internment : — Capt. j. C. Leech, Hussars, attd. R.F.C., Lieut. R. C. Macpherson, Black Watch, attd. R.F.C., Capt. S. A. Sanford, Dragoon Guards, attd. R.F.C., Lieut. E. R. Scholefield, R.F.C., Capt. J. N. S. Stott, Dragoon Guards, attd. R.F.C., Capt. W. H. Sugden- Wilson, Yeo., attd. R.F.C., Capt. H. M. Hankin, Ind. Cav., attd. R.F.C. The following were included in the party which arrived in' Holland on April 19th : — Flight Lieut. J. F. Hay, R.N. ; 2nd Lieut. F. Adams, R.F.C. ; Lieut. E. H. E. J. Alexander, K.O. Y.L.I. and R.F.C. ; 2nd Lieut. A. L. Bumic, Buffs, attd. R.F.C. ; 2nd Lieut. A. C. Collier, R. Lan. R. and R.F.C. ; Capt. G. C. Formilli, R.G.A., attd. R.F.C. ; Lieut. V. M. Grantham. R.F.C. ; Lieut. H. T. Kemp, Ches. R., attd. R.F.C. ; Lieut. D. Lecson, Can. Inf., attd. R.F.C. ; Lieut. J. G. McEwcn, R.F.C. ; Lieut. O. Mansell-Moullin, R.F.C. ; Capt. G. T. Porter, R.F.A. and R.F.C. ; Lieut. A. L. Russell, R.F.C. ; Lieut. R. J. Slade, A. C.C., attd. R.F.C. ; Lieut. W. E. Somervell, L. N. Lane. R., attd. R.F.C. ; Capt. C. C. Strong, Lond. R., attd. R.F.C. ; Capt. E. J. Strover, 3rd Brahmans, attd. R.F.C. ; 2nd Lieut. B. Wilkin, D.C.L.I., attd. R.F.C. ; Capt. C. B. Wilson, Hussars and R.F.C. A Gallant Rescue. It is now announced that the award of the Military Cross to Second Lieutenant J. Parkes, Worcester Regiment, gazetted on October 18th was won under the following cir- cumstances.— When a " single-seater ".British aeroplane was forced to alight about 250 yards from our front line, he at once dashed over the parapet to the pilot, who was in a dazed condition, and brought him into our lines under heavy machine gun fire. 481

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British Official. THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE ON THE WESTERN FRONT IN FRANCE R A F. scouts ready to start away on a “stunt.” May 2, iqi#_ ( There appears to be some chance, in spite of the official announcement, that Commander Brock may still survive as a prisoner of war. It is to be hoped therefore that he may some day be able to receive the greeting in this country which should await his safe return. From survivors it has transpired that Commander Brock led the storming party on to the Mole, dropping a dozen or more feet to come to close grips with the foe, who were protected in an enclosure guarded liberally by barbed wire. This was stormed, and Commander Brock, using his fists, made his way to a gun, and almost single-handed, accounted for the crew. The gun was captured, and put out of action, and then Commander Brock attacked another gun’s crew, cheering his men all the while. Just before the “Vindictive's ’’ syren sounded the signal of recall Commander Brock was seen removing one of the locks of the gun, but a moment or two later he was wounded by a shot from a German destroyer. When last seen he was being watched over by two marines, who insisted on remaining to support the wounded officer. A truly British Story. So our faithful dog friends are to be annihilated by official starvation on the allegation that dogs are unnecessary war luxuries. It hardly seems possible that things will go so far as that. If an object lesson were needed to condemn such a proceeding it is to be found in the following “ battle picture ” by an eyewitness from the recent Somme fighting : — “ Although wounded in the head — shells bursting every- where— and starting to make his way towards the dressing station (his N.C.O. after him for orders), he turned and came back. It was to find the little dog he had rescued five days before nearly dead with fright, and which had stuck to him all through the * warmest ’ places ever since. The next I saw of him was with a blood-stained rag round his head and the blessed pup tucked under his arm going off rather uncertainly to have his wound dressed, and after that, I hear, he walked five miles to headquarters to report before being conveyed down to the base hospital, wliere he now lies.” Let this action carry its own warning and moral. Picture the return presently of fighting men of this stamp — and there are thousands of them — when they arrive home to find their dearly loved old pals officially starved out during their absence fighting the nation’s battles ! We fancy official stay-at-homes responsible for the dastardly and unnecessary deed would find their position anything but an envious one. Why not get rid of a few thousand of the undesirable Huns, still resident amongst us, and turn over their portions to the “ friend of man.’’ Nobody can credit the Hun with such a title. Very nearly 15 to r is no bad record in bomb-dropping. The figures published by the Air Ministry for March in this connection carry even more comforting reflections than the mere enormous percentage in favour of British aircraft as it is noted that no less than 23,099 of the total 36, r 79 bombs dropped by us during the month were let go against the enemy by daylight, compared with the 51 7 dropped during the day by the enemy. The Huns have little stomach for facing the music by the light of day, except in massed form. There is a paper down at Sedalia, Mo., U.S.A., which enjoys the services of a resourceful reporter. This thoughtful American has reckoned out that enough hardware goes into the average aeroplane to : — Nail 2,163 shingles on a roof ; screw down the coffin lid on one thousand Germans (The provident mind, you see !) ; hang the kitchen with 65 lbs. of "aluminium"; wire a third of a mile of three-strand fence ; put down 24 square feet of spruce flooring on the porch, and five feet of pine on the chicken coop, three feet of ash on the dog house, and still have a few things over, such as 798 forgings and 921 steel stampings- and tumbuckles for the " junk man." Consistency is about the last thing in the world that the average Irishmen bothers his head about, without perhaps it be to quarrel with everything and everybody. A good instance of the sort is the case of the 600 men odd who have been employed on the building of an aerodrome in Ireland and took part in the labour strike against conscription of Tuesday last week, and remained idle for the day. Five or six men from the North of Ireland refused to join in the strike, and continued at work. When the others returned on ' c . t w -r-*'V** - .*\* '

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4 lirUxsh Official. FUNERAL OF BARON VON RICHTHOFEN ON THE WESTERN FRONT IN FRANCE. The cortege moving along to the cemetery. British Official. FUNERAL OF BARON VON RICHTHOFEN ON THE WESTERN FRONT IN FRANCE. Firing a volley ever the grave. 483

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May 2, 1918. EEEEEEEE E a a a a a British g Official. E The German H Offensive on the Western Front in ® France. — Fixing 0 bombs to drop on g massed Germans. _ E 0 0 E 0 0 0 0EEEEE00 Wednesday morning, these protestors had the assurance to demand the dismissal of the Northern men who had " carried on." The contractors refused to comply with the demand, and, while the dispute was still in progress, the Chief Officer of Aerodrome Construction in Ireland arrived. On learning the cause of the dispute he ordered the men to be paid off immediately ; the workmen's huts being nailed up, and the work of construction abandoned, at all events for the present. Such prompt summary " justice ” must have come as a nasty jar in return to the workers for their patriotic " behaviour, and the quaintness of the whole proceedings is emphasised by ttye fact that a very emphatic " injustice to Ireland " rumpps has recently been evident in the Irish Press against the Government for not using Ireland as a central manu- facturing spot for all things aviatic. There were 45,520 street accidents, of which 2,401 were fatal, in the United Kingdom last year. A daily contemporary points out that this compares with 625 people killed and 1,469 wounded in air raids in the same period. Brazil is the latest nation to enter the field for helping to bring into reality the making of the air black with aeroplanes to the ultimate undoing of the Hun, authority having been accorded for building a large factory for the construction of war-planes. While the Crown Prince and an Admiral were standing on Zeebrugge Mole taking photographs of the damage which was not done by our Naval raid, British airmen, it is reported, appeared and began energetically bombarding this U-boat nest. Rumour hath it that about the smartest hustle on record resulted amongst the royal snappers. Samoel Ernest Skelton, a farmer and a sergeant of special constabulary at Scrooby, was fined £5 at Retford on Saturday for persisting in striking a match in the open after a raid warning had been given. Cowardly, anyway, if it was an unprotected one seeking sanctuary in its safety box ; but goodness only knows what it will come to, if matches get much shyer. Long Acre is one more firm on the road to the Aviation Centre. This time it is Messrs. Whiteman and Moss, Ltd., who have put up their sign at No. 35. Though of late years Mr. H. G. Wells has branched into sociology (whether the Karl Marx variety or the more in- triguing kind that culminates in disappointing asterisks !), he has always remained faithful to his first love, science, the manifestations of which he handles with the deft assurance of knowledge. His description of an aeroplane crash which breaks into the croquet and small talk of a country vicarage, which occurs in that unequal, but charming book “ Marriage,” is quoted from : — “ Click went ball and mallet, and tlien, after a long interval, click. It seemed incredible that anything could possibly happen before tea. But this is no longer the world it was. “ Suddenly this tranquil scene was slashed and rent by the sound and vision of a monoplane tearing across the heavens. A purring and popping . . . and the monster came sliding up the sky over the trees beside the church, already near enough to look big, a great stiff shape, big buff sails stayed with glittering wire, and with two odd little wheels beneath its body. It passed a little to the right of the church tower, there wasn’t fifty feet of clearance altogether, and they could see both driver and passenger making hasty movements. ... It became immense and overshadowing, and everyone stood rigid as it swept across the sun above the vicarage chimneys. Then it seemed to drop twenty feet or so abruptly, and both the men cried out as it drove straight for the line of poplars between the shrubbery and the meadow. Evidently the aviator was trying to turn sharply ; the huge thing banked, but not enough, and ’came about and slipped away until its wing was slashing into the tree tops with a thrilling swish of leaves and the snapping of branches and stays. ... . * “ The three ladies rushed sideways as the whole affair slouched down on them. It came on its edge, hesitated whether to turn over as a whole, then crumpled, and amidst a volley of smashing and snapping came to rest amidst ploughed-up turf, a clamorous stench of petrol, and a cloud of dust and blue smoke ■within twenty yards of them. The two men had jumped to clear the engine, had fallen headlong, and were now both covered by the fabric of the shattered wing." A propos the death of the German crack airman, Baron von Richthofen, who, as recorded in our last issue, was reported to have been flying a Fokker triplane when he met his death, some additional information is now to hand re- lating how this German “ Ace " came to be flying a machine that had been condemned by the German authorities. It is said that the Fokker firm produced a second type of machine, differing no doubt considerably from the type of which we commence a description elsewhere in this issue. This design is said to have been “ turned down ” by the German experts, but Baron von Richthofen, who had tried one of these machines, liked it, and in spite of the official veto on it took a fancy to the machine. The Fokker firm thereupon promptly made the Baron a present of the machine, and he is said to have frequently used it. At the moment there is no indi- cation that it was any defect in the Fokker triplane which caused the airman to lose his life, although it is conceivable that those who were responsible for condemning the machine will see in the termination of Richthofen’s last flight a justification of their judgment. 484

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The Royal Air Force. Tk„ • . . London Gazette Supplement, April 2%rd. The following appointments are made at the Air Ministry 4 Deputy Chief of the Air Staff wMte i "■ Gr°VeS' D S a' “d "U,n his *■* Maj.-Gen. R. C. Monday ; ; ££’***“*'• T , _ , _ Assistant Med teal Administrator. Lieut.-CoJ. C. B. Heald ; April ist. Staff (Mm*. . P‘- E; Y; King-Hall ; April ist. Lieut. (Temp. Capt.) C. K. Jupp: April •St. Capt. Hon. R.G. Winn; April 8th. E' ®: Ashmore, C.M.G., M.V.O. (Brevet Col., Temp. Maj.-Gen, in Army), is granted a temp, commission as Maj.-Gen. ; April 19th. „ Flying Branch. l-ieuts. to be Temp. Capts. while employed as Capts. (Flying) D. R. Mac- ATh ’ APrl1 6th- L‘ Harrisol‘ 1 April 7th. J. W. Aldrrd, M.C. ; April _ Administrative Branch. April' 10th ” ^ Bald, M.C., to be Temp. Maj. whilst specially employed ; Cient. (H011. Capt.) H. C. Waghorn to be Temp. Capt. while employed as Admin. Capt.; April 3rd. A- Pelham to he Temp. Capt. while employed as A.D.C. ; April 10th. lnc following arc granted temp, commissions as Capts. while employed as Courts-martial Officers M. B. O’Brien (Capt., bond. R. (T.F.) ) ; April 4th. b. b. Macaskic (Capt., Lond. Yen. (T.F.) ) ; April 5th. Lieut. H. C. G. Allen to be Temp. Capt. (without the pay and allowances of that rank) while employed at the Air Ministry ; April 13th. The following relinquish their commissions on ceasing to be employed : — lemp. Lieut.-Col. F. R. Hedges ; April 7th. Lieut. R. D. Sampson ; April oth. Lieut. E. B. H. Johnson (R.F.A., S.R.) ; April 24th. 2nd Lieut. P. J. Webb relinquishes his commission on account of ill-health ; April 24th. Technical Branch. Lieut. H. Cooke- Smith to be Temp. Capt. while employed as a Tech. Capt.; April gtb. 2nd Lieut. (Temp. Lieut.) W. S. Renwick to be Lieut, whilst employed as a Tech. Lieut.; April 4th. London Gazette Supplement, April 26I/1. The following temporary appointments are made at the Air Ministry :— Staff Officer, 2nd Class. Capt. Hon. O. M. Guest, and to be Temp. Maj. while so employed ; April r8th. Capt. H. French, and to be Temp. Maj. while so employed ; April 23rd. Col. J. D. Edwards, C.B., to be Temp. Brig.-Gen. while employed at the Air Ministry; April ist. Flying Branch. To be Temp. Lieut.-Cols. while employed as Licul.-Cols. (Flying) : — Maj. S. Smith, D.S.O.,Capt. (Temp. Maj.) K. K. van Der Spuy, M.C.; April 17th. Maj. E. M. Murray, M.C., seniority April 17th ; Maj. E. H. M. O’Farrcll, sen- iority April 17th ; April 19th. Capt. (Temp. Maj.) E. L. Millar to retain his rank while employed as Maj. (Flying) ; April 6th. Lieut. (Temp. Capt.) S. G. Kingsley, M.C., to be Temp. Maj. while employed as Maj. (Flying) ; April 20th. Lieut. G. G. Cratchley to be Temp. Capt. while specially employed ; April 27th. To be Observer Officers : — Temp. 2nd Lieut. L>. L. Brocklcsby ; April 2tid. Temp. 2nd Lieut. J. M. Dunn, Temp. 2nd Lieut. J. A. Ellis, Temp. 2nd Lieut. A. K. Mackereth ; April 4U1. Lieut. R. V. Waters relinquishes his commission on account of ill-health con- tracted on active service ; April 27th. Administrative Branch . Capt. G. Stevens to be Temp. Maj. while employed as Admin. Maj. ; April i8th. 2nd Lieut, and Hon. Capt. C. S. Burdon to be Temp. Capt. while employed as Admin. Capt. ; April ist. H. G. Stuart, M.C. (2nd Lieut, in Army), is gran ltd a ump. commn. as Lieut.; April 27th. The following arc granted temp, commissions as I.icuts.:- — G. F. Ansell, W. H. Lyall ; April ist. The following are granted temp, commissions as 2nd Lieuts. > — F. T. L. Avis, S. E. Bade, F. C. Bird, E. G. Boone, W. G. Chate, R. St. G. Chester-Master, J. P. A. Donaghy, A. Edwards, H. C. F. Ellis, C. Freeman, P. W. Gibbs. F. W. Healey, L. J. Maiden, E G. Masson, B. A. Matthews, C. C. Moldram, N. O'Reilly, W. B. T. O'Sullivan, W. E. Randall, J. L. Saxton, J. R. Senior, W. F. Swan. J. B. West, M. J. Wolseley, Cpl. C. W. Braddy. from R.A.F. : F.-Sgt. J.Freeman- Fowler, from R.A.F., H. D. Fletcher, Sgt. G. J. Mackie, from R.A.F. : April ist. W. S. Shell, ist Writer R. S. Davidson, from R.N.D. ; April 3rd. and Air Mech. A. J. Williamson, from R.A.F. ; April 4th. J. Bremner, H. G. Brodie, L. N. Bubier, H. Byatt F. G. Cartman, C. W. Curtis, C. L. Hales, F. C. Hook, W. H. Jones, G. Mitchell, R. Myer, E. C. St. A. Newby, H. Nixon E. C. Poyser, W. Roxburgh, H. N. Sauer, W. H. E. Thomas, R. N. Walter, H. A. Young; Aprilsth. Cdt. (Pte.) S.W. Turner, from Dorset R., Cdt. G. Hill, from Can. Rly. Troops, T. Hodgson u April 6th. Capt. (Temp. Liout.-CoL) G. W. Williamson, M.C., relinquishes the temp, rank oi Lieut.-Col. on ceasing to be employed with the Ministry of Munitions -, April end Lieut. H. T. Kingsley to relinquish his commission on account of ill-bealth contracted on active service ; April 27th. Technical Branch. Capt. A. Graves to be Temp. Maj. while employed as Maj. (Tech.) ; April 6th. Temp. 2nd Lieut. H. C. Atkin to be Temp. 2nd Lieut. (Tech.) ; April ist. Royal Flying Corps (Military Winft). London Gazette Supplement , Apnl 23 of. The following appointments are made:— Flight Commanders.— From Flying Officers, and to be Temp. Capts, while so employed : — Temp. Lieut. J. P. Colin. Gen. List ; Dec. 18th, 1917* lemp. 2nd Lieut. J. S. Green, M.C., Gen. List : Jan. oth. Lieut. A. L. Chick, Essex R. (T.F.) ; Temp. 2nd Lieut. A. F. Woodward-Gregoryt Gen. List ; March 30th. Temp. 2nd Lieut. H. Liver, Gen. List; March 31ft. Special Appointment. — Graded as a Flight Comdr.— The appointment of Lieut. E CL N. Grimble, Herts R. (T.F.), notified In the Gazette oi Jan. 28th, is can- celled a # Flving Officers.— 2nd Lieut. D. MacGregor, K.O. Sco. Bord., S.R. , and to be seciL; March 17th? Temp. Capt. F. B. Reece, from Adjt., R.fe. ; March .yth . ’Be*. AUZDCIAs AD AlSTKA. ” Lieut. A. Cattauach. Cani'11. lligbrs. (T.F.) and to be seed. And to lx* transfd. to R.F.C. ,Gen. List 1— Temp. Lieut. M. Stuart-Mrateth, M.C., Line. K. ; Temp. 2nd Lieut. W. H. McNeilly, attd. Sco. Rif. ; March 24th. Temp, and Lieuts. (on prob), Gen. List, and to be confirmed in their rank. — G. B. S. Thomson, H. J. Browne; Feb. 28th. A. Webster; March t6th. A. R. Macdonald; March 17th. W. F. Blanchfield, F. C. Scott ; March 181b. S. B. Booth, L. A. W. Deane, E. Jackson, T. A. Roods : March 19th. A. Donaldson, F. J. Cunn- ingbame, J. W. Turner, H. V. Barker ; March 20th. 1. O. Gajc, H. Hiley ; March 21st. H. W. Clarke, It. J. Fyfc, A. C. llacvio, P. T. Harris, E. Stubbs, R. M. Grice, J. H. Cartwright ; March 22nd. A. Parsons, E. A. Parnell, D. B. Griffiths, F. Kennison, F. A. Sedorc, K. E. Britton, R. P. Nowell, H. L. Sutton ; March 23rd. W. H. Askew, L. G. Kesterton R. Rlngrosc ; March 14th. Adjutants. — Lieut. D. G. Nairn, A.S.C. (T.F.), to be seed., and to bo Temp. Capt. (without the pay and allowances oi that rank) while so employed ; Feb. 7th. Lieut. (Temp. Capt.) W. Benn, D.S.O., Yeo. (T.F.), from a Flying Officei (Obs.), and to retain his temp, rank, with pay and allowances as Lieut. ; March 30th. Ballexm Company Commander (Graded as a Flight Comdr.). — Lieut. E. G. N. Grimble, Herts. (T.F.), from a Balloon Comdr. (graded as a Balloon Officer), and to be Temp. Capt. while so employed ; Dec. nth, 1017. Depot Commanders. — And to be Temp. Lieut . -Cols, while so employed. — Temp . Maj. 5. janson, A.S.C.,lrom an Equipment Officer, ist Class ; Feb. 7tb. Temp. Maj. R. F. Stapletou-Cotton.Gen. List, from a Special Apiiointmmt (graded at a Park Comdr.) : March 23th. -W Special Appointments (Graded as Park Comdr*.).— And to be Temp. Majs. while so employed : — Temp. Capt. C. H. D. Bannett, Gen. List, from a special appointment (graded as Equipment Officer, ist Class) ; March lotb. Temp. Capt. J. H. S. Annesley, Gen. List, from an Adj. ; Capt. G. H. Errington, N. Staff. K., S.K., from an Adjt, ; March 12th. General List. — To be Temp. Lieuts. : — Temp. 2nd Lieut. T. Thomson ; July ist, 1917. Lieut. F. H. Wreun, from R. Mar. ; March 20th. Temp. 2nd Lieut. J. H. Adamson is dismissed the service by sentence of a General Court-martial ; March 27th. The loliowing from R.F.C., to be Temp. 2nd Lieuts. : — 3rd Class AirMechs.: — J. L. Kirby; Dec. 29th, 1917. A. Mur Beau, H. V. Quick; Pec. 31st, 1917- A. G. Wilicox; Jah. 6th. E. Rose; Jan. nth. I’tes., from Lond. R. (T.F.) :— D. J. C. Hutton ; Jan. 10th. S. G. Beard ; Jan. 14th. Memorandum — Temp. Sgt. -Maj. W. L. Rennie, irom R.F.C., lo be and Lieut, while serving with R.F.C. ; March 30th. London Gazette Supplement, April 24 th. Special Appointments. — Graded for purposes of pay as a Brig. Maj. while employed as Asst. Coindt . , R.F.C., Cadet Wing. — Capt. A. Gallahcr, D.S.O., D. Gds., to be seed., and to be Temp. Maj. while so employed ; March ijth. The following appointments are made : — Flight Commanders. — From Flying Officers, and to be Temp. Capts. whilst so employed : — Temp. 2nd Lieut. D. A. Stewart, Gen. List ; March 25th. Lieut, J. T. Quick, Devon R. (T.F.) ; March 29U1. Flying Officers. — Temp. Lieut. R. V. Walker, M.C., Gen. List, irom a Flying Officer (Obs.) ; Oct. 31st, 1917, seniority March nth, 1916. Temp, and Lieut . H. W. Savage, Gen. List; Nov. 29th, 1917. Lieut. J.L. While, Canadian M.G, Corps ; Feb. 14th. Lieut. E. R. Watts, Gord. llighrs. (T.FJ, and to be seed. ; March loth. 2ud Lieut. R. E. Frampton, R.G.A., S.R. ; March 18th. Lieut. C. M. J. Barrington, Durh. L.I., and to be seed. ; March 19th. Lieut. W. S. Cattell, North’n R. (T.F.), irom a Flying Officer (Obs.) ; March 20II1, seniority Jan. 23rd, 1917. Lieut. L. H. Hillier, North'd I'us. (T.F.) : Ltcut.F. Woodcock, M.C., R.G.A., S.R., from a Flying Officer (Obs.), seniority April nth, 1917. Temp, and Lieut. F. R. Lovell, Res. Rgts. of Cav., and to be transfd. to R.r.C. Gen. List ; Lieut. J. S. McNeil, R.E. (T.F.); Lieut. C. Burgr-ncr, E. Ontario R., Canadian Exped, Force ; and Lieut. A. E. West -Oram, R.F.A. (T.F.). and to be seed. ; March 22nd. Lieut. W. E. Carter. Canadian Exped. Forte ; "limp, and Lieut. A. McD. Dunlop, Sco. Rif., and to be transfd. to R.F.C., Gen. List ; Maj. D. A. MacRac, Alberta R., Canadian Exped. Force ; Temp, and Lieut . L. W. Hudson, R.W. Kent R., and to be transfd. to R.F.C., Gen. Lltt ; Temp. Lieut. E. C. Middleton, E. York. R., from a Flying Officer (Obs.), seniority April 27th, 1917 ; March 23rd. Temp. 2nd Lieut. A. E. Simpson , attd. Wore. R., and to be transfd. to R.F.C., Gen. List : March 24th. 2nd Lieut. W, V. N. Grant, Nortb'n K. (T.F.), and to be seed. ; March 23th. Lieut, (actg. Capt.) R. W- Gossc, Nortb'n R. (T.F.), to relinquish Ids actg. rank, aud to be seed. , Lieut. E. G. L. Brown, K.G.A. (T.F.). and to be seed. ; Temp. 2nd Lieut. W. M . Wessel, Welsh R., and to be transfd. to R.F.C., Gen. List ; March 26th. Temp. Lieut. K. C. Bass, S. Air. Inf. ; March 27th. Temp. 2nd Lieuts. (on prob,), Gen. List, and to be confirmed in their rank : — Van R. Van T. Irvine ; Dec. 31st, 1017. C. to. Wilson : Jan. 27th. H. J. Bowen ; Feb. 5th. W. C. Seymour; Feb. 7th. W. H. McGee; Feb. 9th. E. Shapard ; Feb. 14U1. D. Aserin.ni, A. W. Welsh ; March 1 2 th. S. Turner; March 13th. R.Calrow; March 16th. T. C. Welch, T. W. Knealc ; March 19th. J.C.R. Manning, A. R. Stcdman, A. E. Chittenden; March 20th. T. S. Bulmiin, V. Henry, K. J. Marion. P. W. Penney, E. A. Goodwill, L. E. Edmunds, J. G. Riley, E. L. Cap- reol ; March 2ist. W. E. H. Blytb, S. W. Higbwood, 0. W. Lang, J. C. Uhlman. R. G. Underwood, J. Dale, J. P. Gibbon, B. Pepper, J. C. Tate, R. E. Whitting- ham, F, J. Stevenson ; March 22nd. J. G. Bertrand, C. W. Tolsou.ll. Kendall , R. Sterling, C. Marriott, F. C. Annesley ; March 23rd. G. K. Trim, E. J. Noble, H. J. Saker ; March24tli. S. A. Young, W. E. Bardgctt. J. L. Batstonc ; March 25th. N.Clcmcncc, R. V. Jennings, j7 W. Parsons, E. Hi Bishop, C. H. Miller, C. R. Gooding. C. Lobley, A. Colley, C. R. Lee, J. D. Wollaston ; March 26th. T. Brown, H. T. Kushton ; March 27th. F.'W. Ely, H. B. Hartland ; March 28th. Balloon Officer. — Temp. 2nd Lieut, (on prob.) H. G. F. Murray, Gen. List, and to be confirmed in his rank : March 1st. Equipment Officers, 2nd Class. — From the 3rd Class 1 — C. A. E. Lloyd, from Temp. Qr.-Mr. and Hon. Lt., Gen. List, and to be Temp. Lieut. ; Jan. 15th (substituted for the notification in the Gazelle of Feb. 26th). Temp. Lieut. W. T. H. Hocking, Gen. Lfst ; March 4th. Schools of Instruction. — Central Flying School. Instructors. — Temp. Capt. A. W. Keen, M.C., Gen. List, a Flight Comdr., vice Temp. Lieut. (Temp. Capt.) H. M. Sison. M.C., A.S.C. ; Nov. 30th, 1917. Lieut. (Temp. Capt.) H. A. Wood, M.C., S.R., a Flight Comdr., vice Capt. 17. and Lieut. (Temp ght Comdr., vice Temp. (Temp. Maj.) A. C. Clarke, Welsh R. : Dec. 27th, 1917. 2nd Lieut. (Temp Capt.) W. R. S. Wilberforcc, M.C., K.R. Ril. C., a Flight - - - Yeo. (T.F.j, a Flight Comdr., vice Lieut. (Temp. Capt.) II. A. Wood, MI.C. , S.R. ; March 2nd. Lieut. (Temp. Capt.) R. S. Lucy, Worc.R. (T.F.), a Flight Comdr., vice Lieut. (Temp. Capt.) K. L. Caldwell, M.C., S.R. ; March r8th. General List. — Capt. H. W. Stockdale, S. Air. Dei. Force, to be Temp. Capt. ; Sept. 4th, 1917. Temp, and Lieut. A. G. Trcmain to be Temp. Lieut.; March 8th. To be Temp. 2nd Limits. £pl. F. W. Marshall, from R.E. ; Jan. 30U1. tst Class Air Mech. S. A. Odell, irom R.F.C. ; March 23rd. Memorandum. — Maj. A. M. Grenfell, D.S.O., Yeo. (T.F.), from a Spc . Appt.

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May. 2 1918, gaga so 2nd (graded for purposes of pay at a Brig.-Maj.), to be Temp. Lieut.-Col. while mployed os Comdt., R.F.C., Cdt. Wing ; March 15th. Supplementary to Regular Corps. — 2nd Lieut. F. A. Shippam to be Lieut. ; March 5th. London Go uttc Supplement, April 2 }th. The following appointments are made : — Flight Commanders. — From Flying Officers, and to be Temp. Capts. while employed : — Temp. 2nd Lieut. 1. A. Pattern, Gen. Liat ; Dec. 23rd, 2917. 2 Lieut. R. U. Martin, R. Muns. Fus., and to be seed. ; March 20th. Flying Officers. — Temp, and Lieut. J. A. Fenton, R. Ir. Rii., and to be transid. to R.F.C., Gen. List ; Nov. 22th, 1917. Lieut. A. Grundy, Br. Columbia R., Canadian Ezped. Force: March loth. Capt. R. B. Stanley, A.S.C. (T.F.), and to be seed. ; Temp. Lieut. F. H. Wrenn, Gen. List ; March 20th. Temp. 2nd Lieut. N. J. bakers, Gen. List, from a Flying Officer (Observer) ; March 21st, seniority May 10th, 1017. Lieut. E. G. Richardson, R.G.A.,S.R.,lrcm a Flying Officer (Obs.), seniority Feb. 15th, 2927. Lieut. F. P. Bruce-Austin , R.F.A., S.K.,irom a Flying Officer (Obs.), seniority Feb. 26th, 2927 ; March 22nd. Temp. Lieut. T. G.'Rae, Gen. List ; March 23rd. and Lieut. F. J. de Beaufort -Suchlick, North'n R., S.R., and to besecd. ; March 24th. Capt. E. C. Clancey, Cent. Ontario R., Canadian Exped. Force, from a Flying Officer (Obs.) : March 25th, seniority March 3td, 1927. Lieut. F. A. Mildred, M.C., North'd Fus. (T.F.); Lieut. N. G. Pring. R.A., from a Balloon Officer ; March 26th. Temp. Lieut. A. W. Higson, A.S.C. , and to be transfd. to R.F.C., Gen. List ; March 27th. Temp. 2nd Lieuts. (on prob.), Gen. List, and to be confirmed in their rank: — K. H. Wallace; Nov. 28th, 2027. J, G. Kusscll; Dec. 30th, 2927. A. L. McLaren; Jan. 30th. S. C. Conner ; Feb. 4th. C. F. David; Feb. 19th. W. R. Archibald ; Feb. 28th. E. A. Humphries ; March 22th. E. A. W. Kent ; March 16th. M. C. Morton ; March 29th. H. Hughes ; March 20th. E. Clark, J. Buracss, D. A. Parker; March 21st. J. D. Bowman, J. V. Mc- Kinnon ; March 22nd. K. V. C. Lewis, J. N. RookLdge. A. F. Stokes, A. B. Fish, T, McM. Shields, A. Wedge ; March 23rd. R. J. Marshall, V. R. Blow, J. P. Lloyde, R. A. Baring, D. A. O'Leary, A. Ibbotson, A. B. Care, C. F. Put- waine ; March 24th. H. S. Green, H. White, W. E. Copley. P. A. F. Ridgway, J, G, Kolph, E. Waugh, C. H. Lee, R. I. Fowler, E. N. Underwood, G. W. Lock- head, C. F. J. Lisle ; March 25th. -R. G. Taggart, L. Dei Ncvo. C. Cox, A. A. Charlfisworth, F. A. Taylor, J. B. Rose ; Match 26th. A. S. Rawiinson ; March 27th. Flying Officers ( Observers ). — Lieut. D. W. McIntosh, Cam'n. Highrs, S.R. ; March 29th, seniority from Oct. 24th, 2927. March 26th. — Lieut. T. C. Noel, M.C.,'K.O. Sco. Bord, S.R., seniority from Jan. 4U1, and to be seed. And to be transfd. to R.F.C., Gen. List : — Temp. 2nd Lieut. E. L. H. Macleod, Wore. R., seniority from Jan. 20th ; Temp. 2nd Lieut. A. C. Coombs, Middx. R., seniority from Jan. 28th. • Temp 2nd Lieuts, (on prob.), Gen. List, and to be confirmed in their rank : — N. H. Moreton; March 13th, seniority from Sept. 15th, 1917. March igth, seniority from Oct. 24th, 1917 . — F. V. Kidson, R. B. Carey ; V. Gordon ; March 26th seniority from Dec . 5th, 1917. Special Appointments. — Graded as Park Commanders. — March gtb Temp. Lieut. (Temp. Lieut.-Col.) G.' R. Moser, Arg. and Suth’d Highrs., on relinquish- ing the appointment of Comdt. (graded as a Depflt Comdr.), Schools of Aerial Gunnery, and to revert to the rank of Temp . Mai . wh ile so employed ; Temp. 2nd Lieut. (Temp. Lieut.-Col.) A. R. C. Cooper, Gen. List, on relinquishing the appointment of Comdt. (graded as a Wing Comdr.), Schools oi Aerial Gunnery, attd to revert to the rank ot Temp. Maj. while so employed. General List.— The notification in the Gasette oi April 8th, 2918, regarding Temp. 2nd Lieut. (Temp. Capt.) F. J. Wood is cancelled ; Temp. 2nd Lieut. G. A. B. Wheldon to be Temp. Lieut . ; March 5th. rst Class Air Mech. E. A. Gay, from R.F.C., to be Temp. 2nd Lieut.; March 23rd. V. T. H. Ffrench, late L.-Cpl., K. E. Horse, S.R., to be Temp. 2nd Lieut, (on prob.) ; March 23rd. London Gaselte Supplement, April 26th. The following appointment is made : — Equipment Officer, 1st Class. — Temp. Lieut. C. M. Dyer, Gen. Last, and to be Temp. Capt. while so employed ; Feb. loth. General List. — Lieut. C. M. Dyer, Australian Gen. List, to be Temp. Lieut.; Feb. loth. The following appointments are made : — Flight Commander. — Capt. W. A. London Gaselte Supplement, April 27 th. Mar. rst. Hannay, L'pool R., from a Flying Officer; Tomja be seed. Temp. 2nd Lieut. A. Brock, attd. R. Muns. Fus., and to be transid, to R.F.C. Gen. List Mar. 28th, with seniority fTOm Jan. 29th : — Temp. Lieut. H. H. Harman, R. Fus., and to be transfd. to R.F.C. Gen. List 2nd Lieut. to R.F.C. Gen Mar. 28th, with seniority iTOm Jan. 29th : — Temp. Lieut. F.CattrcaB,Lan.Fus.(T.F.),and tobesecd. 2nd Lieut. R. Key , Line . R. (T.F.), Mar. 28th, with seniority from Feb. 8th, and to be seed. Lieut. G. Bryer-Ash, Wilts. R., and to be seed. ; Mar. 27th, with seniority from Feb. 23rd. Temp. 2nd Lieut. J. E. Reynolds, Oxf. and Bucks. L.I., and to be transid. to R.F.C. Gen. List ; Mar. 27th, with seniority from Mar. 6th. Temp. 2nd Lieuts. (on prob.), Gen. List, and to be confirmed in their rank : — W. J. T. Oliver ; Dec . 30th, 1917, with seniority from Oct.rsth, 1917. C.L. Kayment, with seniority from Dec. 29th, 1917. G. J. Maynard, with seniority trom Jan. 3rd ; Mar. 27th. J. S. Rough ; Mar. jut, with seniority irom Mar. 1st. Equipment Officers, 1st Class — Anil to be Temp. Capt. whilst so employed : Jan. 3rd. — From Instructors (graded as Equipment Officers, " for Wlrelesss Operators Temp, Lieut. R. Cook, Gen. List ; S.R. From Equipment Officers. 3rd Class. — Temp. Lieut. List ; Lieut. S. Ransom, S.R. ; Mar. tst. Temp. Lieut. M. L. Horn, Gen. List ; Mar. 30th. 3 rit Class. — Temp. Lieut. J. A.-R. Buffer, Gen. List, from a Flying Officer (Observer) ; Oct. 17th, 1917. Temp. Capt. M. F. L. Selby, North'd Fus., and be transfd. to R.F.C. Gen. List ; Jan. 18th. Lieut. M, D. Scott, R.F.A. icers, and Class), School List ; Lieut. F. Murphy, eut. A. L. Wilson, Gen. n-ua 4.131 I JIIU. 2U1U. 2.ICUI . , uwu, ts,i .it. (T.F.), and to be seed. Temp. 2nd Lieut. T. J. L. S. Boyd, Gen. List ; Mar. rst. Temp. Lieut. J. II. Dickson. R.A., and to be transfd. to R.F.C. Gen. List ; Lieut. C. H. W. Cross, R.F.A. (T.F.), and to lie seed. ; Temp. 2nd Lieut, (actg. Lieut .) 2nd Lieut. A. N. Ealand, Res. Regts. of Caw, and to be transfd. to R.F.C. SeS'.U*e;„2nd.Lieut' R' E' Mussey. R.F.A., S.R. ; 2nd Lieut. F. A. Rapley, R.F.A., S.R.; Mar. 5th. Temp. 2nd Lieuts. (on prob.), Gen. List, and to be confirmed in their rank J. M. Atherton ; Mar. rst. A. A. McConnell, S. C. Wonall, J. C, Gemmell, W. Foster ; Mar. jth. Schools of Instruction.— School 0/ Technical Training (Men). Company Officers {graded os Equipment Officers, 3rd Class).— Temp. Lieut. J. S. Craig, K. Sc. Fus., and to be transid. to R.F.C. Gen. List ; Lieut. D. B. Martin, R.E. (T.F.) ; Lieut. G. A. McMillan, Sco. Rii. (T.F.), and to be seed. : Temp. Lieut. J. More, R. Sc. Fus.-and to be transfd. to R.F.C. Gen. List ; Lieut. K. J. Falconer, Cord. Highrs. (T.F.), and to be seed. ; znd Lieut. W. H. Hume. Gord. Highrs. (T.F.), and to be seed. ; 2nd Lieut. O. Lawrence, Gord. Higlirs. S.F.), and to be seed. ; and Lieut. J. M. Adams, Gord. Highrs. (T.F.) and to seed. ; 2nd Lieut. A. Henderson, R. Scots (T.F.), and to be seed. ; 2nd Lieut. J. W. Mennie, Gord. Highrs. (T.F.), and to be seed. ; Temp, and Lieut. R. C. Smith, attd. K. Sc. Fus., and to be transfd. to R.F.C. Gen. List ; 2nd Lieut. A. E. T. Robinson, Gord. Highrs. (T.F.), and to be seed. ; 2nd Lieut. G. Thom- son, Gord. Highrs. (T .F.), and to be seed. ; Feb. 27th. Temp. Lieut. A. Duthie, Gord. Highrs., and to be transid. to R.F.C. Gen. List ; Temp. Lieut. C. Kenyon, attd. Gord. Highrs., and to be transied. to R.F.C. Gen. List ; Feb. 28th. Temp. 2nd Lieut. T. Smith, Lab. Corps, and to be transfd. to R.F.C. Gen. List. ; Mar. lit. General List. — Asst. Paymr. T. J. L. S. Boyd, from R.N.V.K., to be Temp. 2nd Lieut. ; Mar. rst. To be Temporary 2nd Lieutenants (on probation). — F. C. Topham ; Dec. 28th 1917. w. J. Brooks, M. E. Rowe, T. B. Burns, H. J. Boyle, D. Milicr, W. A. Murphy, T. C. McKechnie, A. S. Quick, E. P. Larrabec, H. L. Savage, G. F. Sanderson, G. M. Noonan, B. Cohen, A. G. Levy, W. T. Armstrong, B. M. E. A. Lape, J. M. Porteous, W. S. Pawson, J. O'Donoghue H. L. Pennal, M, Tison, E. G. Weller, A. N. Westergaard ; Feb. 17th. London Gaselte Supplement, April 291)1. The following appointments are made : — Wing Commander.— Capt. (Temp. Maj.) W. D. S. Sanday, D.S.O., M.C., S.R., Irom a Sqdn. Comdr., and to be Temp. Lieut.-Col. whilst so employed ; March 21st, seniority March 12th. Flying Officers. — Temp. Lieut. A. Sleep, Gen. List, from a Flying Officer (Obs.); March nth, seniority March 31st, 1917. Lieut. G. R. Wootten, New Bruns. R., Canadian Exped. Force; 2nd Lieut. C. Brown, K.O. Sco. Bord. (T.F.), and to be seed. ; 2nd Lieut, (on prob.) K. H. Smith, S.R. ; March 17th. Temp. Capt. W. E. J. Detmold, Gen. List ; March 18th. Temp. Lieut. W. Wallace, M.C., Gen. List, irom a Flying Officer (Obs.) ; March 23rd, seniority Nov. 13th, 1916. Capt. R. L. Chatterton, Leins. R., and to be seed.; Lieut, A. HoUingworth, Quebec R., Canadian Exped. Force, irom a Flying Officer (Obs.), seniority April 21st, 1917; March 26th. Lieut. R. H. Hanmer, M.C., R.W. Fus., and to be seed.; Lieut. J. D. S. McCubbin, North’d Fus. (T.F.), and to be seed.; Temp. 2nd Lieut. N. -H. de V. Hcathcote, Gen. List, from a Flying Officer (Obs.). seniority Jan. 4th, 1917 ; March 27th. Capt. K. C. GUI, M.C., Camb. R. (T.F.), and to be seed. ; Lieut. J. H. S. Alexander, Yeo. (T.F.), from a Flyfng Officer (Obs.), seniority Feb. 23rd, 1917 ; March 28th. Temp. 2nd Lieuts. (on prob.), Gen. List, and to be confirmed in their rank : — J. P, West ; Oct. 13th, 1917. W. B. YuUle; Oct. 15th, 1917. A. R. Grafton ; Jan. 24th. C. K. Crocker ; Jan. 29th. H. A. Boyle, R. w. Duff ; Jan. 30th. F. Fennell ; March 12th. L. B. Palmer, C. P. Macklin, C. A. Mitchell ; March 17th. A. W. Robertson, S. E. MaUcr; March 18th. E. J. Ffoulkes-Jones, J. E. Smith, R. H. S. Eason, H. Boyd, W. R. Collins, R. H. Stone, G. E. Taylor, J. Taylor ; March 19th. R. McL. Knox, L. W. Effedge, F. G. Harlock ; March 20th. H. W. Hevwood, C. R. Selman ; March 24th. A. St. J. V. Macltae, P. C. Michel!, G. A. Anderson, E. R. Salter. E. W. Watts, A. H. Maltby, D. M. Pinkerton ; March 26th. D. A. MacCartney, G. A. Featherstone, W. E. Dum- bell ; March 28th. D. King, J. M. Ottewell ; March 29th. B. Fletcher, C. J. Moir, J. A. Beesley ; March 30th. Balloon Officers. — Lieut, (actg. Capt.) W. Wallace, R.F.A. (T.F.), to relinquish his actg. rank and to be seed. ; Jan. 31st. Lieut D. I. W. Gray, R.G.A. (T.F.) • March 24th. Capt. W. H. Jamieson, Cent. Ontario R., Canadian Exped. Force, from a Special Appt. (graded as a Staff Lieut., 1st Class) ; March 23th. Lieut. E. T. Weigall, R.A., and to be seed., 2nd Lieut. W. H. Keay, R.G.A., S.R. ; March 3tst. Temp. 2nd Lieuts. (on prob.), Gen. List, and to be confirmed in tbeir rank : — E. R. Brown ; Jan. 19th. W. S. Eastaugh ; Feb. 2nd. H. A. E. Gard ; March 25th. Equipment Officers, 2nd Class. — From the 3rd Class : — Temp. Lieut. R. G. Meecb, Gen. List, Lieut. A. E. VerpUieux, S.R., Temp. 2nd Lieut. L. A. Goss, Gen. List, and to be Temp. Lieut, whilst so employed ; Jan. 3rd. Lieut. P. M. T. Hill, S.R. ; Feb. 28th. And to be Temp. Lieuts. whilst so employed Temp. 2nd Lieut. K. E. Beswick, Gen. List ; March rst. 2nd Lieut. H. Weak- ley, S.R. ; March 25th. Experimental Officers, 1st Class. — (Graded as Equip. Officers, rst Class). — And to be Texnp. Capts. while so employed ; March 1st >— Lieut. W. W. Stainer, K. Suss. K. (T.F.), from the 2nd Class (graded as on Equip. Officer, 2nd Class) ; Temp. Lieut. W. G. M. Nicholl, Gen. List, from an Equip. Officer, 2nd Class. Schools of Instruction. — VPirriess School. Chief Instructor. — (Graded as a Park Comdr.). — Lieut. (Temp. Capt.) R- P. J. M'Coy, S.R., an Equipment Officer, 1st Class, and to be Temp. Maj . while so employed ; Jan. 3rd. General last.— 1st Class Air Mech. H. M. Bateson, from R.F.C., to be Temp. 2nd Lieut.; Feb. 25th. To be Temp. 2nd Lieuts. (on prob.). Feb. 17th: — A. H. Johnston, A. E. Flynn, A. E. Hill, C. W. Johnson, F. W. Douglas, W. K. Jenne, R. K. Douglas, H. F. Guyon, J. W. Frechette, J. R. Fournier, T. D. Hazen, E. V. Holland, W. H. Dillon, B. S. Eytinge, J. H. H. Dougbty-Davies, N. O. M. Foggo. Lieut. J. H. Truscott, Devon R., irom a Flying Officer (Obs.), to'be Temp. J. Stewart, Garr. Bn., Suff. R., to relinquish his actg. rank and to be transid. Capt, (with pay and allowances as Lieut.) while acting as Adjt. ; Feb. 25th. to RiF.C. Gen. List ; 2nd Lieut. J. T. Borthwick, K.G.A., S.R. ; Temp. 2nd Supplementary to Regular Corps. — 2nd Lieut, (on prob.) K. H. Smith is con- Lieut. E. T. Scale, R. War. R., and to be transfd. to R.F.C. Gen. List ; Temp. firmed in his rank. Fourteen to One. The Air Ministry issued on April 27th the following com- parative statement of the number of bombs dropped by British aircraft in France over the enemy's lines opposite our front and of those dropped by the enemy in the area occupied by British troops during March : — British. Enemy. B>' day .. 23,099 517. By night .. . . .. .. 13,080 1,948. Total .. .. .. .. 36,179 2,465. A Raid on Calais. Enemy aircraft raided Calais on the night of April 20th and dropped half a dozen bombs, which caused only material damaige. The Bombing of Zierik zee. Great Britain has paid an additional sum of 27,023 guilders (about £2,252), thus settling all the claims for the damage done on the night of April 29th, 1917. at Zierikzee, Holland, by bombs thrown by a British aeroplane.

Page 23

Casualties. Lieutenant Bernard Balfour, London Regiment and R.A.F., who was killed on April 16th, in his 21st year, was the son of Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Balfour, of Wimbledon. Edu- cated at King’s College School, he was a sergeant in the O.T.C. when war broke out and captain of the shooting eight. He obtained a commission in the London Regiment in March, 1915, went to France in June, 1916. and joined the R.F.C. in November of that year while in France as an observer. He served as such till June, 1917, and obtained his pilot’s certificate in August, 1917. On gaining this he again proceeded to the front, remaining there until lie was killed flying on patrol duty. He was a good all-round sportsman, being in the school 15 at football, and a good swimmer and tennis player. Second Lieutenant P. R. Cann, R.F.C. , who died on April 5th, in hospital abroad, of wounds received in action on April 1st, was the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Cann, Atlantic House, Bude. Lieutenant Edgar Dent Dent, Irish Guards, who fell on April iith, aged 27, was the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Lent, of 55, Lee Park, Blackheath, Kent. He was trained from earliest boyhood in rifle shooting, and began a remarkable record when a Public School Cadet. This brought him under the personal notice of the late Lord Roberts, from whom he received great encouragement. In addition to many other successes, at Bisley and elsewhere, when reaching the age of 17, and thereby eligible to compete in " The King's,” he tied for a place in the “ 300,” and was ultimately placed 303rd out of 1,480 picked shots from all parts of the Empire. He received his first commission in 1907 in the 3rd V.B. Royal West Kent Regiment, of which four companies were later embodied in the 20th London Territorial Force, and served there for some time. Before the outbreak of the war in 1914 he had joined the Reserve Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers. From the Royal Dublin Fusiliers he was posted to the 1st Royal Irish Rifles, with whom he was at Fromelles in 19x5. A few weeks later he was dangerously wounded at Fleurbaix, and after recovery was transferred to the R.F.C. and obtained his wings. In 1916 he went to East Africa, but had to return for a surgical operation. He subsequently resumed duty at home with the R.F.C., and on recovery from an attack of appendicitis he joined the Irish Guards. He left for the front on Easter Sunday, and fell 12 days later while commanding his company. In 1913 he married Isobel, second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. McNab, of Old Charlton, Kent. Second Lieutenant Edward Keith Harker, R.G.A., attached R.A.F., who died on April 18th of wounds, aged 20, was the elder son of Edward and Annie Harker, Berkhamsted. Lieutenant Vernon King, Royal Marines, attached R.A.F., who was killed in the air on April nth, aged 31, was the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. King, of Gravesend. He was educated at the Gravesend Proprietary School, Grays College, and Guelph Agricultural College, Canada, where he graduated as B.S.A. He accepted a Government appoint- ment as entomological expert for agricultural work in Kansas, U.S.A., but relinquished it on the outbreak of war to return to fight. He saw service in Egypt , Lemnos, and France. In September, 1917, he transferred to the R.F.C. and gained his observer’s wing. Captain Harry George Ernest Luchford, M.C., R.F.C ., whose death is officially reported, was the eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. George J. Luchford, of Bromley, Kent. On the outbreak of war he was engaged as a clerk in Martin's Bank, Lombard Street, E.C. He enlisted almost immediately in the Norfolk Regiment, and received his commission in the A.S.C. in September, 1914. He served in France with the Indian (Meerut) Divisional Cavalry from December, 1914, to January, 1916 ; was transferred to the R.F.C., and qualified as a pilot on May 19th, 1917, and proceeded at once to the front, where his successes obtained recognition by the award of the M.C. and Bar. He had brought down 27 machines. Second Lieutenant Claude Neville Madelev, R.A.F., who was killed during a combat in the air on January 19th, was the youngest son of the late William Madeley, of Worcester, and Mrs. Madeley, of Sherrington House, Kingston-on- Thames. He was bom at Worcester in 1894, and was edu- cated at Wimbledon College, afterwards joining the Poly- technic Engineering School and gaining the bronze medal in his last year for motor engineering. In January. 1914. lie went to the Westinghouse Engineering Works. Manchester. WThen war broke out he enlisted in a field company of the Royal Engineers, being transferred later to a signal company, lie was with the 1 xth Division at the historical landing at Suvla Bay, and also at the evacuation. After some time spent in Egypt he was ordered to France, where he was made a corporal, subsequently becoming a despatch rideT. In May, 1917, he returned to England and received a commission in the R.F.C., and returned to the front as a qualified pilot in December. Second Lieutenant J. A. McCudden, M.C., R.A.F., who was killed on March 18th, was 20 years of age. In 1914. when only 16, he enlisted in the Royal Engineers, and after transferring to the R.F.C. in the autumn of 1916, he took his pilot’s certificate in June, 1917, went to France in the following August, and served there up to the time of his death in an air fight over the enemy lines while engaged in a long- distance offensive patrol. Flight Lieutenant George Robert John (Bob) Parkinson, R.N., who was killed on April 13th, while flying on patrol duty, aged 19, was the only son of the late Dr. Parkinson and Mrs. Parkinson, of Portland Cottage, Henley-on-Thames. Second Lieutenant V. J. Reading, R.F.C., reported missing on March 26th, who is now unofficially reported to have been killed, aged 22, was the only son of Mr. A. Y. Reading, Knodishall Lodge, Suffolk. lie was educated at Woodbridge Grammar School. Captain Frederick Bennett Reece, R.E., attached R.A.F., who died at a Military Hospital from wounds on April 20th, was the third son of the late Samuel Reece, and of Mrs. Recce, Highfield, Wallasey. Lieutenant Charles Sheil, R.A.F. (late Royal Munster Fusiliers), who died of wounds on April 22nd. aged 28, was the youngest son of Richard H. and Kathleen Sheil, 24, Burlington Road, Dublin. Lieutenant Eric Barton Thompson, R.A.F., who was killed abroad, as the result of an aeroplane accident, on April 8th, was the eldest son of H. C. Thompson, of Buenos Aires. Lieutenant Westropp Peyton Winmill, Bedfordshire Regt., attached R.F.C. (20 months), who was killed in action on March 22nd, aged 23, eldest son of the late Geo. Winmill and of Mrs. Winmill, Bedford, and husband of Myfanwy Winmill, Reading. Second Lieutenant Harold Barkelev Winton, U.A.F., who was killed on April 21st, aged 24, the result of an aeroplane accident, was the only son of William and Edith Winton, Beddington, Surrey. Lieutenant Donald Curdie Black, who died on April 23rd, as the result of an aeroplane accident, lived at Mount Noorat, Victoria. Second Lieutenant J. B. Chamberlin, R.A.F., who was accidentally killed on April 23rd, aged 19, was the second son of H. W. Chamberlin, of Restronguet, Penryn, Cornwall. Viscount Ipswich, R.A.F. and Coldstream Guards, who was killed last week while flying in Wiltshire, was the only son of the Earl of Euston and grandson of the Duke of Grafton. He was 34 years old and was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge. He went from Cambridge to Wye Agricultural College. Afterwards he accepted an appoint- ment in an agricultural company in Egypt, and was tor several years engaged in land reclamation there. On the outbreak of war he was on the staff of Wye College, and at once enlisted in the East Kent Regiment. Shortly afterwards he was given a commission in the Coldstream Guards and was sent to France early in November, 1914. In the spring ol 1915 he was invalided home with shell-shock, and did not return to France until the summer of 1916. In the autumn of last year he returned to England to train as an observer in the R.F.C., and obtained ifis wing in February of this year. Though considerably above the recognised age-limit he passed on to a pilot’s course, and met his death almost at the completion of his period of training. He married, in 1913, Aunol Margaretta, only child of Major Brougham, of Potters- pury House, Northamptonshire, and leaves a sen. born in 1914, who becomes second heir to the dukedom.

Page 24

lieutenant William Hugh King, R.A.F., killed on April lith through an accident when returning from a .raid, was the eldest- son of Mr. and Mrs. William Hedley King, of Inglis'Road, Colchester. Bom in 1894, he was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Colchester.-and.onjeaving went to Germany, where he acquired a thorough knowledge of both the French and German languages. He adopted engineering as his profession, and was articled to Davey, Paxman, and Co., Ltd., of Colchester. He enlisted immediately after the war broke out, and soon afterwards obtained a commission, being gazetted second lieutenant in the Essex (Cyclist) Battalion ; he was promoted lieutenant in July,: 1917. He went to France in March, 1917, and was for some time attached to the 2/5th North Staffordshire Regiment, and later was engaged for some months at the headquarters of the XV. Corps, on account of his fluent knowledge of both the French and German languages. In November, 1917, he obtained a transfer as observer in the R.A.F., and returned to England for a course of training.- He passed all examinations with distinction, and left for the front again early last month. Captain Samuel Treherne Saunderson, R.A.F., who was killed in a flying accident, was the husband of Florence Saunderson, 19, Cliveden Place, S.W. Captain G. Trevor Williams, R.F.A., who died on April 19th, in hospital at Rawal Pindi, India, the result of an accident, was the elder son of the Rev. G. H. Williams and Mrs. Williams, Remenham Rectory. Married. I.ieutenant Edward Ernest Chalmers, R.F.A. and R.A.F.. eldest surviving son of the late Rev. John Chalmers, minister of the parish of Ashkirk, and of the late Mrs. Chalmers, i, Grange Terrace, Edinburgh, was married on April 26th, at St. Andrew's Parish Church, Edinburgh, to Isabella Donaldson, eldest daughter of John Cran, Esq., Backhill House, Carberry, Inveresk. Captain Hugh Fanshawe Glanville, R.A.F., younger son of the Rev. O. F. Glanville, of South Brent, Devon, was married in London, by licence, on April 20th, to Beatrice Gertrude, widow of Lionel C. H. Savory, of Dibden, Southampton. w . . . . Captain Grant, of the Royal Ai r Force, formerly Lieutenant Trygcve Gran, of the Norwegian Navy, who was wearing the Mans Star and the Military Cross, and who in 1914 flew from Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire, to Norway, was married on April 29th, at the Stand Registry Office, to Miss Lily St. John (Lilian Clara Johnson), the actress and dancer, who has been appearing in Yes, Uncle, at the Prince’s Theatre. The best man was Lieutenant J. W. Jackson, R.A.F., formerly stage manager of the Alhambra Theatre. Mr. Horace Claude Maybury, late Lieutenant, R.F.C., only son of the late Horace Mansell Maybury, M.D., &c., of Islington, N., and grandson of the late William Augustus Maybury, M.R.C.S., &c., of Cedar Lodge, Frimley, Surrey, was married on April 20th, at St. Michael's Church, Golders Green, N.W., to Eleanor Amelia, third daughter of Charles Thomas Luck, of Golders Green, serving with the Royal Defence Corps. Captain E. F. Nichol, M.C., Loyal North Lancashire Regiment and R.A.F., youngest son of Dr. and Mrs. Nichol, of Margate, was married on April 20th, at St. Paul's CHurch, Cliftonville, Margate, to Edith Frances, younger daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P. F. Gellatly, of Margate. Major Richard Vynne Southwell, R.A.F., only son of Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Southwell, Bracondale, Norwich, was married on April 22nd, at. St. Mary-the-Less, Cambridge, to Isabella Wilhelmina Warburton, daughter of Mr. W. W. Wingate, Scroope House, Cambridge. To be Married. The engagement is announced between Lieutenant Francis Richard Assinder, R.A.F., son of Mr. Thomas Assinder, of Handsworth, Birmingham, and Miss Eleanor Crowle St. Clair Sinclair, daughter of the late William Sinclair, of Hull, Yorks. The engagement is announced of Lieutenant Ralph H. W. Empson, D.L.I. and R.A.F., and Mabel Elizabeth (Betty), youngest daughter of Dr. and Mrs. John Patterson, of The Green, Ramelton, Co. Donegal. An engagement is announced between Major C. K. Cochran Patrick, D.S.O., M.C., R.A.F., and Ella, daughter of Mrs. Sydney Gross, of Gloucester House, Park Lane. A marriage has been arranged, and will shortly take place, between Mr. W. Cay Williams, The Leicestershire Regiment, attached R.A.F., and Mona, youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Macarthy, Benwell Park, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Items. The King had arranged to hand to Lord Rothemere on Saturday the Military Cross won by his late son. Captain St. George Harmsworth. Lord Rothermere was unable, however, to attend the Privy Council at which he was to hand over his seal of office as Secretary of State for the Royal Air Force, and the bestowal of the posthumous honour was necessarily deferred. Commander Frank Arthur Brock, R.A.F., who took such a prominent part in the organisation of the raid on Ostend and Zeebrugge, and as to whose fate there is a certain amount of hopeful doubt, was the eldest son of Mr. Arthur Brock, of the firm of Messrs. C. T. Brock and Co., the firework man- facturers. Bum in 1884, Commander Brcck was educated at Dulwich College, and went into his father’s business, of. which eventually he became a director. Soon after the out- break of war he joined the Royal Naval Air Service, and he quickly became an expert pilot and received rapid promotion. He was, made a flight commander in 1916, and /was acting as wing commander not long afterwards. Commander Brock’s special knowledge and inventive ability were employed in other directions with notable success, as the First Lord's tribute in Parliament indicated. Last January he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. The will of Brigadier-General Gordon Strachey Shephard, M.C., D.S.O., of Montagu Square, W., who was killed in an aeroplane accident in France on January 19th, has been [proved at £4,995. Six Down in One Day. " The Royal Air Force continues to do great work.” says the Times correspondent in France, writing on April 28th. ” I have told the story of the exploit of Captain Trollope, who is since missing, when he shot down six German machines in one day. That record has now been equalled by another pilot in connection with the fighting in the region round Estaires. The German machines destroyed were of three or four different types. The airman was out with a patrol, when he met a party of eight enemy, and attacked. The first, a single-seater, was sent down spinning and crashed. Then a two-seater was sent after it< Then he tackled an Albatros scout, and that burst into flames and fell to pieces in the air. Two others of the patrol each got one enemy machine, when the rest of the Germans made off.” Continuing the cruise, our men met more of the enemy, and again this airman got three of them. One turned on its back and then broke up. A second spun down nose first and crashed on the ground, and the third collapsed in the air and went to bits. Our airman was himself unhurt, though his machine was badly riddled, and the total bag of that squadron that day was 13 enemy machines. Another extraordinary performance was that of a British two-seater, which met an enemy patrol of eight machines, attacked and drove down three of them. Our aeroplane was badly shot about, and the pilot was wounded in six places. His machine began to descend, and flames broke from it, but, in spite of his wounds, the pilot endeavoured to keep control, and he and his observer went on fighting as the machine came lower. Finally, it crashed in No Man’s Land, and our infantry, who had seen the gallant exploit, rushi d out and, under heavy machine-gun fire, got both the wounded pilot and the observer heme. Another airman a few days ago shot down three enemy balloons in succession on one trip. Raid on Paris Frustrated. The following official note was issued in Paris on April 24th : — “ The air raid alarm was caused by the approach of an enemy aeroplane which was picked up by our searchlights, violently bombarded, and forced to land near Nogent-Lartaud east of Meaux. The machine is a bombing triplane. The crew, consisting of a lieutenant, a non-commissioned officer, and a machine-gunner, were captured." The French Champions. It was announced in Paris on April 25th, that Sub-Lieut. Guerin has brought down his 21st enemy machine, and thus stands fourth on the list of air champions, the three first “ aces " being Fonck 35, Nungesser 32, and Madon 25. 488

Page 25

May 2, 1918. AVIATION IN PARLIAMENT. R.A.P. and Army Annual Bill. ,fsc“?,s‘on on the Ancy Aanua! Bill, in the House of Commons, on April 17th, the following new Clause (Amendment of Section 133 of Army Act) : nftJL a tile Sub-section (i) of Section one hundred and thirty-three Act (which relates to military prisons and detention barracks) I*? a?i?r?I1?lwoJ^s inserted “ and every building or part of a building IkliR81? unf^r^lle Air Force Act as an air-force prison or detention barrack, sn li unless the Secretary of State otherwise directs be deemed to be a military’ ™or detention barrack within the meaning of this Section.” 1L Tnis Section shall, notwithstanding anything in Section fourteen of y i ,niiaP Act» *904. come into operation both within the British islands and elsewhere on the passing of this Act. brought up, and read the first time. Mr. Macpherson : I beg to move, “ That the Clause be read a second tune.” ihc reason for my moving this New Clause is that the Air Council which nas been recently instituted have asked that airmen sentenced to detention narraexs should be received into military' detention barracks in order to undergo their sentence. Under Section 63 of the Air Force Act recently passed an airman sentenced to detention has to undergo the term of his detention either in Air Force custody or in a detention barracks. The Secretary of State for War can, under Section 133 of the Air Force Act, set apart the same buildings now used as a detention barracks or military prison* for the reception of Air Forre prisoners and airmen under detention. He can also, by rules, provide that the same rules which apply to military* prisoners and soldiers undergoing detention *hail apply to Air Force prisoners and airmen undergoing detention with such modi- fications as may at any time be necessary'. Under such procedure there were certain difficulties and objections. Offences by* airmen against detention barrack or prison discipline could be dealt with under the rules precisely in the same way as in the case of soldiers. But in the case of serious offences of such a nature that they could not lie dealt with adequately, the airmen under the existing rules would have to be handed over to the Air Force authorities t0 , w*th» il necessary-, by court-martial under the Air Force Act. There would be no difficulty in dealing with offences such as escaping, or offences relating to property, but it would not be easy to make charges under Sections 8 and 0 of the Air Force Act, as the officers of the detention barrack or military barrack would not be the superior officers of the airman under sentence within the meaning of the Air Force Act.^ This Amendment will obviate these difficulties and simplify procedure. Air Force prisoners or airmen under detention in the military prison or detention barrack will be in exactly the same position in all respects as if they were in an Air Force prison or detention barracks. The Amendment of the Army Act provides that, in the case of a soldier in an Air Force prison or barrack, the converse case will be dealt with by this Amend- ment. Clause read a second time, and added to the Bill. Another new Clause (Amendment of Section 179 (a) of the Army Act), “ At the beginning of Section 179 (a) of the Army Act the following Sub- section shall be Inserted : (1) The Army Council may direct from time to time that any officers or soldiers of the Regular Forces shall, under such conditions as may be prescribed by Regulations made by the Army Council and the Air Council, l>e temporarily attached to the Air Force ; was brought up and read the first time. Mr. Macpherson : I beg to move, u That the Clause be read a second time.” The question has been raised on more than one occasion as to the position as regards discipline of airmen in command dcp6ts and military hospitals, and there has been considerable doubt as to the statutory powers to attach members of the Air Force to the Army without their consent, though it is quite clear from Section 176 (1) a of the Army Act that airmen may in certain contingencies be so attached ; but there is no provision as to the circumstance or manner in which such attachment may be made, or whether the consent of the airman so attached is absolutely necessary. The only expressed provisions for attaching soldiers to the Air Force are those contained in Section 3 of the Air Force Con- stitution Act passed last year, under which the attachment must be with the consent of the soldier, or subject to the right on his part to raise an objection. The attachment here referred to is for a length v period. The powers of attach- ment for temporary purposes without the cousent of the soldier may perhaps be implied. Under Sub-sections (z) and (2) of Section 184 of the Army Act it appears to be clearly implied without any express provision to that effect that soldiers may be attached to the Navy and sailors to the Army, and there would seem to be little doubt that similar power is implied of attaching soldiers to the Air Force. However, it is much safer on a matter of such general import- ance, affecting the whole status of the airman or soldier concerned, to rely not upon implied powers, but upon expressed powprs. This proposed Amendment will, I hope, meet the difficulty so far as attaching soldiers to the Air Force is concerned, and if this passes a corresponding Amendment will automatically be made in the Air Force Act, with the necessary modifications, so as to enable airmen to be attached temporarily to the Regular Forces. Brigadier-General MacCaJmont : The Committee is entitled to some slight further explanation, or at any rate my hon. friend should understand that there may be some slight objection to this. I have not had the advantage of legal training, which 1 believe he has had, but the word “ temporary " iu this Clause seems to me to open up a great manv difficulties. He is no doubt aware that this will open up the question of promotion in the Regular Army. That is to say. If an officer goes away from his regiment and is attached to the Air Force, though he is not doing duty in his regiment or the Army, he is filling a vacancy, and he is entirely stopping the promotion of his juniors. There has always been a Regulation with regard to Egyptian Army officers who are entitled to be seconded there for a certain period. At the end of ten years an officer was either struck off the strength of the Regular Army or went back to his regiment. I think that in this case there should be a clear understanding that “ temporary ” does not mean for a great number of years, and that the prospects of promotion of Regular Army officers will not be thereby affected. A particular instance comes to my mind in which an officer has been attached to the Royal Naval Air Service for a considerable number of years, certainly for some period before the war. He is still flying. So far as I am aware, he is in the meantime filling a vacancy as a major in his regiment, where a senior captain, who is a very deserving officer, cannot be promoted to his majority. I should like some assurance that the rights of the regular officers to promotion will not be interfered with by this Amendment of the Army Act, and that there will be some limit to the period which will be allowed under it. Mr. Macpherson : I think that the whole of that question was discussed on the passing of the Air Force Constitution Bill in this House, but I will certainly bring the points which my hon. friend has raised to the notice of my military advisers. I am quite certain that they would not propose a measure of this sort, which is only making definite what so far has been implied, that would in any way be detrimental to the best interests of any officers. General Sir Ivor Philipps : I think that the Army will be satisfied with the reply which the hon. Member has given, because it is essential that officers who are transferred to the Air Force should be seconded in their units, and that units should not suffer from their absence. In other words, both the rank and the pay of the rank should be available for the officer who does the duty, and not for the officer in the Flying Farce who is doing air work. Question put, and agreed to. Clause readme second time, and adde to the Bill. Resignation of Genera] Sir H. Trcnchard. . . , . Ala. Pringle, on April i8th, asked the Prime Minister whether, before the resignation of Major-General Sir Hugh Trcnchard was accepted, the difference * of policy between General Trcnchard and the Air Minister came before the War Cabinet ; and whether be can, consistently with the public interest, slate the questions oi policy upon which a difference of opinion arose between the Air Minister and General Trent hard ? Mr . Bonar Law : The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, and to the last part in the negative. ... Mr. Pringle: Does the right hon. gentleman not realise that great public interest is taken in this matter, and can be not see his way to make a statement which will allay some of the unrest which has arisen ? Mr. Bonar Law : l realise that there is great public interest in it, but I think the House will see that it is obvious one cannot discuss in public questions ot principle of that kind. Mr. Pringle ; Is it not the case that the question ol principle is nnr not affecting any war policy, but simply as to the methods of organisation in which the leading expert of the Air Staff had regard to efficiency in the field and the Air Minister had regard to advertising in the Press ? Mr. Bonar Law : The hon. member is apparently giving his own version ol the difference of opinion. As 1 have said, in our opinion It It not desirable to discuss the matter by wav of question and answer. Colonel Sir H. Verney : Has the right bon. gentleman any idea of the dismay and disgust in the Air Force in France over this matter ? Mr. Bonar Law : No, Sir; 1 think It is obvious that I cannot be expected to give an answer to a question ot that kind, which would give rise to diWWBCO oi opinion. Mr. Hogge : As the Government have got rid of the head officers oi the Navy, the Army, and the Air Force, can the right hon. gentleman sav kw long this practice is to continue of getting rid of competent people ? Mr. Joynsou-Hicks : Will the right hon. gentleman consider wither it would not be possible to make a statement adding a little more information, which will give no help to the enemy, but might allay feelings which to some extent undoubtedly exist ? Mr. Bonar Law : I am quite ready to consider that, like any other desire on the part of the House to discuss a question. 1 do not think it is desirable, at all events in question and answer, to discuss a subject oi this kind. Mr. lTinglc : I beg to give notice that I shall raise this question on the Adjournment to-night. Resignation of General Sir D. Hcndcraon. Mr. Pringle asked whether, since the resignation of Major-lieneral Sir Hugh Trenchard, any and. if so, what other member or members of the Air Council has or have tendered his or their resignation ? Mr. Bonar Law : The Vice-President of the Council, I Jeut. -General Sir David Henderson, K.C.B.. D.S.O., has tendered his resignation, on the ground that he felt that hr would be unable to work with the new Chief of the Air Staff. Mr. Billing : Is it not a fact that for two years and a half we have been endeavouring to get a strong policy in our Air Service, and new that wo have a Minister who is taking a strong policy, this House seems not to agree with him ? Mr. Pringle : What is the policy ? Mr. Billing: Having his ordrrs obeyed. Mr. Pringle: Getting advertisement iu the Press. Royal Air Force Staff. Mr. Llewelyn Williams asked the Under-Secretary oi State to the Air Ministry whether, in view ol the complaint of Lord Rothermcrc that a great number of excellent officers are engaged in filling up unnecessary forms,he will say if the number of officers in the Department of the Controller-General ol Equip- meat has recently gone up from xio to 350, and if, whereas the old Equipment Gunnery and Organisation Gunnery of the War Office had only 20 t-flicers, the number in the Directory of Armament, which has taken over the functions ot those two Departments, has been raised to iao ; and whether these increases were made with the knowledge and approval 01 Lord Rothrnnrre ? Major Baird : The Department of the Controller- General ol Equipment is a new Department formed on the creation of the Air Ministry* which tcok over equipment responsibilities for both the Royal Flying Corps and tlie Royal Naval Air Service. The number oi officers was 331 when the Department was formed, and It is now 3x7. The policy was to include as many attached officers as possible so as to keep a free hand to reduce as consolidation of Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service services proceeds and drc«utrali*atic n of services into Air Force areas is arranged. This and other cognate questions in the Air Ministry arc being investigated by a strong committee appointed ad hoc . As regards the second part of the question, the gunnery section form* part of the armament branch in the Department of the Director-General of Aircraft Production, who is responsible to the Minister of Munitions. M.O.M. and the Supply of Aeroplanes. Mr. Winston Churchill, Minister of Munitions, in his speech on April 25th, on the Estimates for the Ministry of Monitions, reviewing the work of his Department, said. I will now mention some of the special features of munition* development which have taken place in the last year, so iar a* I may do so without telling anything to the enemy wbch be ought not to know or which he does not know already. The principal great new task which was entrustrd to the Ministry of Munitions in 19x7 was the construction of aeroplanes and aeronautical nppli anccs of all kinds. Since that date we have delivered more than twice as many aeroplanes as have ever been made before. We arc now making in a single week more than we made in the whole of 1914. We are now making in a single month more than wr made in 1913. Wr are making in a single quartrr xnurc than we made in 1916, and we are going to make this year several times what we made last year. (There 1 introduce an element of vagueness.) But the vast expansion, the geometric progression, of the supply is most impressive when viewed in figures. Here also the quality has greatly improved in every respect. Not only are the hopeful estimates which were put forward last August being fully maintained, and even In some cases sensibly surpassed, but tbr quality and power of the engines have made enormous advances, and the number* ol types in use have been reduced to. 1 think, something like a third of what they were a year ago. You can see the results in the increasing ascendancy, gradually moving forward to virtual supremacy, in the air which our Flying Servicr is establishing in France. But the flow of machines, the improved standardisa- tion of engines, and the constant expansion oi the British Air Force has only just begun . Never has there been an arm to which more encouraging proipect* were open than the British Flying Service at present. I should lx* quite ready to elaborate this aeronautical supply question in the fullest possible detail if bon. members desired it in the secrecy of a Committee room. Here I will content myself with saying that you may look forward at present with good and assured hope to the primacy of our Air Service among our Allies and its increasing and unmistakable superiority over the enemy, and wc may look forward to both these objects as reasonable and legitimate objects to be achieved within the compass of this year’s efforts. And there are hardly any limits to the results which may ultimately be derived from this. So far as the Ministry of Munitions is concerned, we ewe this achievement to the work of a very remarkable man. In Sir William Weir we have found not only a great producer, but a man with war intuitions of a very high order, a man 489

Page 26

May 2, 1918, fitted, above all others I have come across in this sphere of business, to exprets the swiftly changing war conceptions which a Service like this provides in lein s of a great and expanding mechanical supply. The confidence which was it- posed in Sir William Weir by the Air Board led to the whole business of design, as well as that of supply, being entrusted to us as soon as Lord Rothennere bed obtained the necessary- power. The union under one authority oi design and supply is the foundation of production on a great scale, and this is specially true when the character of the production is continually varying and developing. The interests of design and supply are naturally at variance, design seeking a swift and immediate road to perfection, and supply succeeding only through standardised output. We are very lucky indeed to have found at such a time a man capable of reconciling these conflicting interests in amanncT which centimes to coramaiul the increasing confidence of all conce rn* d. Lancashire Aircraft Acceptance Park. Major David Davies, in the House of Commons on April 22nd, asked the Undcr-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether he can state the total amount of money which has been spent upon an aircraft acceptance park in Lancasihre ; whether this park is still being used ; and, if not, whether he can state the reasons for which it has been closed ? The Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry- (Major Baird) : The total amount spent on this acceptance park, the name of which the hen. member has been good enough to communicate to me privately, is about £i5,cco. It was formerly used both for the erection and storage ol aeroplanes. It has not been closed, but is at present only used for storage. It is, however, intended fo use it again at an early date for the erection of machines. Air Ministry and Glasgow Hotel. Mr. Watt asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether his Department has last week commandeered another hotel in Glasgow, notwith- standing the statement by the Air Minister that hotels are unsuitable buildings for conducting the business of Government Departments ; if so, is he aware of the lack of hotel accommodation in that city for commercial men , and for inspectors and the like sent by Government Departments; does he know that large terrace houses can be got there uninhabited and in large numbers ; and will he, in these circumstances, reconsider this matter ? Major Baird : No final decision has been arrived at as regards the taking over of this hotel, and it is hoped that it may be possible to find suitable accommoda- tion elsewhere. Mr. Watt .* Is the hon. and gallant gentleman aware that the Minister for Air made the statement that hotels were unsuitable buildings for the work ? Major Baird : I do not recall that. I have no doubt the hou. member’s memory is better than mine. Resignations of 8ir D. Henderson and Sir H. Trenchard. Commander Bellairs asked the l*rimc Minister whether his attention has been drawn to the anxiety created by the resignations of the two officers of greatest experience in the Air Service from the Air Council ; and whether he will give a day for discussion, in order that an adequate statement can be made on the administration of the Air Council and, if necessary*, discussed ? The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Bouar Law) : If there is a general desire, the Government will be glad to afford an opportunity for this discussion, which probably would most conveniently take place on the Vote of the Salary for the Secretary* of State for the Air Ministry. Major Sir J. Simon : Can the right hon. gentleman say whether the War Cabinet ever saw General Trenchard about his difficulties before the Govern- ment dispensed with his services ? Mr. Bonar Law : 1 do not think that arises. Compensation for Lost Tools. Mr. Tyson Wilson, on April 24th, asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether men in the Naval Air Service (Royal Air Force) who provide their own working tools are entitled to compensation for such tools if they are lost under circumstances over which they have no control ? Colonel Gibbs : All working tools required are now required for men of the Royal Air Force. My hou. friend’s question, therefore, does not arise. Mr. Wilson : Is the hon. and gallant gentleman not aware that quite a large number of these men provided their own tools when they joined up, and are still using them ? Colonel Gibbs : I will inform my hon. and gallant friend of what the hon. member says. Cabinet Changes. Mr. Macmaster asked the Prime Minister if he has any statement to make to the House and to the country iu regard to recent changes in the Cabinet and n the Air Force ? The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Bonar Law) : I do not think that any statement as to the changes in the Cabinet is necessary, and there will be an opportunity of discussing the Air Force on Monday. Mr. Macmaster : Apart from the opportunity of discussing the appointments, would it not be for the convenience of the House when changes are made in the Government that they should be announced in the House itself ? Mr. Bonar Law : I hardly think jo. It would add a great deal to our discus- sions, without producing much benefit. Mr. Macmaster : Is the old obsolete practice to be followed ? General Trenchard *s Resignation. Major Sir John Simon had given notice of the following questicn : To ask the Prime Minister if he will say on what date Major-General Sir Hugh Trenchard tendered his resignation, and on what date the matter came before the War Cabinet, and the resignation was accepted ? Brigadier-General McCalmont : Before this question is answered, may 1 point out that hitherto it has always been customary for hon. members of this House who had commissions to retrain from making use of confidential information, which reached them in the course of their duties, in putting questions or taking part in the Debates of this House which affect the conduct of their superiors, and may I ask whether, in view of that fact, the right hon. gentleman expects that practice to be continued in view of the question on the Paper ? Mr Bonar Law : That is a very large question, upon which 1 do not think that 1 should be asked now to give a decision. In the main, it must be left to the good sense and the good feeling of the members in question. Sir Hugh Tren- chard tendered his resignation on March 19th to the Secretary oi State for the Royal Air Force, who, on April 10th and 12th. brought the matter before the War Cabinet. The Secretary of State intimated on April 12th to General Tren- chard that he accepted his resignation. Sir E. Carson : Has the Secretary of State power to accept the resignation without going to the War Cabinet ? Mr. Bonar Law : Certainly. Sir J. Simon asked whether, between the date when General Trencliard’s resignation was tendered and the date when it was accepted, the War Cabinet or any member of it ever saw General Trenchard on the subject, and discussid with him the difficulties of his position ? Mr. Bonar Law : The answer is in the negative. Sir Francis Blake asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whetherMa jor-General Sir H. Trenchard's resignation was tendered and accepted some weeks ago ; whether he continued his work temporarily upon being requested to do so ; and whether he was consulted before the fact of hiis resigna- rfoo was made public ? Colonel Gibbs : The answer to the first part of the question is that the resigna- tion was tendered on March 19th, and accepted a fortnight ago. The answer to the second part of the question is in the affirmative, and to the third part in the negative. Aeroplane Parts. Captain Barnett asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether manufacturers of aeroplane parts are able to obtain supplies promptly from the Air Board depots ; and if he is aware that dissatisfaction prevails among such manufacturers because they are unable to obtain supplies without inordinate delay ? Mr. Kellaway : I have been asked to reply to this question. In a rapidly increasing aeronautical production programme, where it is necessary to bring into production a vast number of accessories under war cc nditiens with minin.uni production capacity and labour, it must occasionally happen that there is a certain lack of concurrency. 1 am satisfied that such situations are met with energy, and failures of the kind referred to by the hon. and gallant mem lx r arc not more frequent than is inevitable. The Supply of Steel. Captain Barnett asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether definite contracts w-cre made with certain merchant firms to stock special steel sheets lor aiTCialt purposes ; if such contracts have recently been withdrawn and manufacturers ol aeroplane parts are being supplied direct frem Air Board depfits ; and, if so, whether it is proposed to compensate the merchants for the expense and loss incurred ? Mr. Kellaway : I have been asked to answer this question. No contracts of the kind suggested were made, but certain merchant firms were utilised for handling small stocks of material pending the completion of adequate storage accommodation by the Department of Aeronautical Supplies. No contracts having been withdrawn, no claim to compensation arises. Captain Barnett : May 1 give the hon. gentleman information on the subject ? Mr. Kellaway : I shall be very glad to receive it. American Aero- Squadron. Mr. Hume-Williams asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the men of the American aero-squadron attached to the British military camps at Salisbury Plain are living in tents which are not provided with any flooring ; whether the men are in consequence suflcring lrcm cold and damp ; and whether he will consider the possibility of providing the tents with flooring either ol weed or of some substance which will keep them comparatively dry and warm. Mr. Macphcrson : No demands ol this nature have been received in the War Office, but I am making inquiries and will communicate with my hen. and learned friend later. Resignation of Lord Rothennere, Sir Edward Carson : Is it true that the Secretary of the Comm ittee of the Air Service (Lord Rothermcre) has resigned, and has his successor teen His successor has nol yet been appointed. THE AIR FORCE DEBATE. 1 n the House of Commons on April 29th the Air Force Estimates, 1918-19, were considered in Committee. Motion made, and Question proposed, ‘ That a sum, not exceeding £1,000, be granted to His Majesty, to delray the Expense of the Air Ministry, which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1919.” Mr. Pringle : I beg to move to reduce the Vote by £100. It is undoubtedly an unusual and a somewhat anomalous course to propose a reduction in the Vote of the salary of a Minister in the case of an office which has just been vacated, and to which a new appointment has only been made two days ago. No doubt, owing to the change, the debate we are likely to have to-day will lose something in piquancy, but I think there is ground for believing that it will not be entirely shorn of usefulness. In the first place, I believe I am expressing the feeling in all quarters ot the Committee when 1 say that wc deeply sympathise with the late Secretary of State lor the Koval Air Force in the reasons of ill-health and private sorrow which have compelled him, at this juncture, to relinquish his post. In spite of his retirement, a dis- cussion of the recent changes at the Air Ministry is necessary at the present time, because, as we have been informed by the Leader of the House, the decision taken in regard to the late Chief of the Air Staff was not simply a decision of the late Secretary of State, but a decision of the War Cabinet. [An hon. member : "Nol ”] That is so. it has been stated by the Leader of the House. That is somewhat unusual in cases of this kind. In the second place, we have been informed, in answer to a question, that the matter which issued in his resignation was a question oi policy, and in these circumstances it is the right of the Committee to be fully informed of the differences of opinion on policy between the Minister and bis Chief of Staff which issued in the resigna- tion. Further, there is even a stronger reason for the discussion, because the Committee is now still more interested than it was before that the best use should be made of the undoubted ability, particularly in regard to the Air Service, of the late Chief of the Air Staff. Mr. Pringle then recapitulated the ascertained facts, and continued : It seems to me that there is much that requires explanation. This strange and anomalous situation has had a number ot extremely unfortunate effects. In the first place, the resignation in itself, announced without any explanation, has given rise to a great deal of unrest in the public mind as to the conduct of this Service, and it has brought about what is of far gieater importance, a condition of complete consternation throughout all ranks in the Air Force. We have had a number oi semi-official explanations offered in the usual way when such Ministerial and official changes occur. No real explanation has been given in this case. The only approach to an explanation has been given by the Secretary to the Air Ministry. It was that the difference between the late Secretary oi State and the Chief of the Air Staff related to the different views which they held oi the functions of the Chief of the Air Staff. The hon. and gallant gentleman (Major Baird) gave an account of the functions of the Chief of the Air Staff when he presented the Air Estimates, on February aist, and I think it worth while to quote what he then said, as I assume that statement was a summary of the Order in Council constituting the new Air Council. He then said : “ The Chief of the Air Staff is charged with advising His Majesty’s Govern- ment as to the conduct of air operations in all questions of air policy affecting the security of the Empire, including Home deience. He is further charged with liaison with the Allies, with the Admiralty and with the Army Council as regards policy, operations, and intelligence. Under his Ifepaitment tails the subject of policy as to air organisations and establishments. The principles of training are laid down by him Schemes of development of the Air Force are also settled by him Guidance as to the specifications of aircraft, engines, armament, ammunition and other equipment, strategic and tactical, dispositions 490

Page 27

Hay 2, 1918. hriffu6^’ “d g.raet?* schemes for works and aerodromes— that covers, bncfly, the sphere assigned to the Chief of the Air Staff ” covers, aJlSSe^m ‘thiV c,?traod «»^stiW account of the duties mrat the Quite obviously, with such a clear state- ■X>h i- nifr S i* I f. r °m,ce' °°c wonders how this difference of .minion hr Uhn pl^er“ arUen- 11 mav *" tbat a clue * >unc^ofeWarChief ^ Shown the hoF*iessnftis of entrusting strategy to a What we desire to know is what were the questions relating to the respective functions of the Secretary of State and the Chief of the Staff upon which this difference arose. We have heard other accounts of what happened. In a supplementary question of Thursday week 1 made the suggestion that the difference between the Minister and his Chief of the Staff really related to policv in regard to new construction, and that while the Chief of the Air Staff was concerned that new construction of aeroplanes should be used in the first instance for maintaining existing squadrons at full strength with a view to efficiency in the held, and also from the point of view of its effect upon the men themselves, on the other hand the Secretary of State was rather concerned in multiplying the number of squadrons with a view to presenting the achievements of his Ministry in a more spectacular form, lf that was the issue between them, there is no doubt on which side the verdict of this Committee would be. It would prefer the view of the Chief of the Air Staff to that of the Secretary of State. And as a great number of people have beard this explanation, it is of the utmost importance that we should have a clear and definite answer from the Govern- ment as to whether that was the issue between them, and if it was, the Govern- ment would have some difficulty in defending its position here. Another suggestion has been made that when the matter came before the War Cabinet, the War Cabinet itself did not really seek to come to a decision on the merits upon that particular point, but came to the view that matters had reached such a stage that it was impossible for both the Secretary of State and the Chief of the Air Staff to continue in their respective posts at the Ministry, that in these circumstances one or the other required to go, and the decision of the War Cabinet was that it preferred to retain Lord Rothcrmere and to allow General Trenchard to go, not on the merits but simply on the ground oi the desirability of retaining or dispensing with either one or the other of these gentlemen. If that is the case, now that a change has been made in the Secretary- ship of State, the. War Cabinet has an opportunity of changing its position in regard to General Trenchard. We can only assume from the announcement in the Press that the War Cabinet accepted General Trcnchard’s resignation with the greatest reluctance and regret. We must assume that they had no idea that he was incapable of being the head of a thinking Department, as some of the underlings say, and in these circumstances that they were not inclined to use his resignation as the equivalent of a dismissal. If that is so now, when there is a change in the Secretary of State, and when a former colleague of (ieneral Trenchard on the Air Council, with whom so far as we know he has never had any difference, is the new Secretary of State, surely an opportunity occurs of restoring to the service of the Air Force the great ability, experience, organising capacity and high personal qualities of General Trenchard. This can be done, I think, without any reflection upon the late Secretary of State, and I hope the Government will be able to see it in that light. Those connected with the Air Force arc united in the view that his resignation has had not onlv an unfortunate but even a disastrous effect upon the Air Force itself. They aJl feel it keenly, and they fear that less than justice has been done to an officer in whose career they take a special delight, with whom they have all worker!, and to whose energy the success of the force in France has been very largely due. Would it not be well to put an end to this feeling of soreness and restore, as it were, the confidence which, to a certain extent, has been undermined by these events, by reinstating General Trenchard in the force as Chief of the Air Staff ? I think that is a fair and reasonable request to make. Of course, I cannot prejudice the case, because I do not know all the circum- stances. Until an explanation is given I have no title to speak as to whether the dismissal of General Trenchard is right or wrong, but what I think I am entitled to say is that those who are actually serving and who are doing the work all hold one opinion on this matter. That is all I think I have a right to sav, and that is all I will venture to say. I may be wTong and I may be contradicted, but I do say without much fear of contradiction that there is in the whole Air Service in France disgust at the dismissal of General Trenchard. Lord Hugh Qecil : My intervention in this discussion is, I hope, not in an unduly controversial vein. My desire is to contribute to the public interest and to assist, as far as a member of this House can assist, in making the Air Force of the Crown as powerful as we all desire it to be. I have received from one or two friends some very kindly-meant words of counsel against my speaking in this Debate, because of the circumstances. I was, a short time ago, very slightly occupied in a very subordinate position in the Air Ministry. As a matter of fact, that would not have affected my speech on this occasion, because it is not my desire to enter into a controversial spirit as to anything that is past ; and as my connection with the Air Ministry is at an end, obviously my mouth is perfectly free. My connection with the Air Ministry is of the past, and that past has been closed by Lord Rothcrmere’s resignation. I desire to express the warmest sympathy with the tragic circumstances which caused that resignation. I cannot, however, speak very respectfully of the Prime Minister’s letter accepting that resignation, and perhaps the kindest thing to say of it is that it is the effort of a strong Celtic imagination. It was not a statement of fact, but an essay in hagiology, and as often in hagiology the legendary element very strongly pre- dominates in it. Still the past is over, and I for one am not going to provide any controversy in regard to it. We have a new Secretary of State, and I desire to congratulate the Government very heartily on the appointment they have made. Sir William Weir is a man who deserves the warmest confidence he can receive. He is deeply respected by everybody who knows him, both as a very able man and as a man in whose integrity and good sense the strongest trust can be placed. It is indisputable — and I do not think the Government will dispute it— 5hat the Air Sendee has suffered two great losses quite recently. It lost Sir David Henderson, who presided over the Flying Corps almost from its com- mencement, until it extended itself and became the great and memorable foyce it has become. He is a man of the most encyclopaadic knowledge of the subjqat, a knowledge which could not well be dispensed with by any Government or Ministry. He is full of resource and most active in every respect, and he is a man whose services ought not to be lost to the country in connection with the .Air Force. There would be no one more useful to the Government in advising the War Cabinet on aerial matters — no one who would better be able to make clear to them what most needs making clear, no one who wonld be readier with advice or resource when an emergency has to be dealt with, and I am sure that if they had had Sir David Henderson at their elbows when the recent disputes were under discussion several serious mistakes would have been avoided. But if possible a still heavier loss has been occasioned by the resignation of Sir Hugh Trenchard, and I want to tell the Government how great that loss is. First let roe say it mast be realised that Sir Hugh Trenchard is • great organiser. No one who saw any ot his work in France, as 1 have dour two or three years ago, can doubt his extraordinary capacity for organising. That capacity arises partly from having a very strong memory and great power of detail, partly from having an extraordinary acquaintance with the distribu- tion of the work, and partly from his personality which made for quickness of decision and which enabled him to build up the Air Force in Fraucc uutll it became the great body it now is. In tins recent battle the Royal Air Force bos done magnificently and the organisation ol Us work and the credit for it belougs to Sir II ^ If you have a man like Sir Hugh Trenchard at the bead ot your Air Force, perhaps you may find he will not always listen to the ideas of every amateur strategist in the Cabinet quite as sympathetically as that strategist might desire. The Prime Minister (Mr. Lloyd George) : Why does the noble Lord say that ? No amateur strategist in the Cabinet ever suggested anything to Sir Hugh Trenchard while he was in the Air Force. The noble Lord tins really no right to say that. Does he know of any amateur strategist in the Cabiuct who ever suggested anything ? If not, he has no right to say that. Lord H. Cecil : 1 am not suggesting that. The Prime Minister is very sensir The Prime Minister : Sensitive, because there is so much talk ot this kind of thing going on. 1 can imagine no such suggestion going irom the Cabinet to Sir Hugh Trenchard. Lord H. Cecil : I am very glad to find the Prime Minister hns said what hr has said, because it accords with my own impression. I will tell him quite frankly what was in my mind. What 1 have heard Sir Hugh Trruchard criti- cised for, in conversation — 1 am anxious most frankly to respond to what the Prime Minister snys — is that he would not accept new ideas if they were put before him. 1 believe that to be utterly and entirely untrue. All that was in my mind was that conceivably somebody had said something to him that he did not receive very responsively. The Prime Minister Not in the Cabinet. Lord H. Cecil: I am very glad to hear that. Considering that the Prime Minister has lost a great public servant, and that all we are doing it to point out how great the loss is. I do not think lie need show himself so very sensitive. The Prime Minister: The noble Lord surely ought to know what 1 moan He talks about the interference of amateur strategists in the Cabinet with Sir Hugh Trenchard. He has not the slightest ground for making the suggest ion— not the slightest ; and instead of apologising, as be aught to have dour, he makes one of the most offensive suggestions it is possible* to make. Lord H. Cecil : 1 am certainly not going to withdraw a syllabic oi what 1 said. Everything I said was proper and right. If the Prime Minister suppose* that he is going to browbeat critics he ill understands the House of which he is. a Member, or the particular Member who is venturing to address the Committee at this moment. [Hon. Members: “Sit down 1 “ "Shut upl“l My only purnose is to try and persuade the Government of what I am confident is in the public interest. An Flan. Member { You arc abusing them 1 Lord H. Cecil : I am abusing the right hon. gentleman himself, because ,1 think he is treating me very badly, and is behaving very badly to the Committee. [An Hon. Member : " Abuse is not argument 1 ”J Neither is interruption in debate, I might say. I certainly did not desire to wander into the controversial vein, and if the Prime Minister had not been present I should not have wandered into it. I am anxious merely to serve the public interest. 1 do want to put liefore the Government and the Committee the great loss that has taken place. They have lost a man who is a great organiser, a great leader, and n mau who has an unequalled knowledge of the subject. We are speaking of strategy. How can you conduct strategy if you have not adequate knowledge ? There is no great professional tradition in the matter. You do not have a stall college at present, though you may have one later, turning out a regular supply, week after week, year alter year, of competent officers who have an outlined knowledge of aerial strategy as they have of military strategy. You have not a great body of competent men to draw on. Therefore, if you quarrel with the most com- petent men in your service, the loss is, in a way, irreparable. There is no other knowledge available except what lies in the minds of one or two individuals, and if you are going to carry out strategy you must have recourse to that knowledge or you will do it amiss. I entreat the Government to act wisely and take the adrice of those who do understand these things before they make up their minds that they can go without the services of *0 valuable an officer. The Prime Minister : I am very anxious in the present state of public affairs, especially military affairs, to avoid anything in the nature of unnecessary dis- putation, and I am especially anxious to do so when we come to discuss a lorce like the Air Force and the internal administration ot this force. 1 listened to the speech first of aU of my hon. and learned friend the Member for North-West Lanark (Mr. Pringle), and I confess that after listening most carefully 1 really do not quite know what be was driving at. I do not quite know the point of bis criticism, except that I should like to say this at once with regard to one statement he made. He seemed to be under the impression that the differences in the Air Force wen: attributable to something which had not the remotest connection with it. I can reassure him and the Committee on Ibis subject at once, with regard to the number of aeroplanes lor one particular purpose or another. I now come to the speech of the noble Lord (Lord Hugh Cecil), and with regard to most of it let me say at once, I agree. Certainly 1 agree with every word he said about the great, the distinguished, and the remarkable service rendered by Sir Hugh Trenchard to the ccuniry. There is not a word of that which the Government does not adopt. There is not a word there which I should not wish in every particular to support and to enforce if I could possibly do so. There is one proposition, however, he laid down which I certainly do not accept, and I think It is necessary that I should at once tell him so. 1 am a, however, nc laid down which I certainly do not referring to hisclaim that Members of Parliament serving in the various branches of the Army have a different standaxd of discipline to others who are not Members of Parliament. [Hon. Members: “In this House?"] That is so. What is the position with regard to that ? It is, I think, very derogatory to the whole discipline of the Army. It was one of the first questions brought to my notice when I was Secretary of State for War in the late Administration. The Army Council called my attention to the fact that there were several Members ol Parliament who wcr<- serving in the Army and who were utilising knowledge which they got as officers in the Army in order to criticise Army administration in this Heine, and they said : “This is extremely unfair to the Higher Command. It is extremely unfair to those who have the direction of the Army, and these Members ought to decide between being Members of Parliament acid being officers/’ 2 Ihink it ought to be stated at once that this has nothing to do with the merits of this particular dispute, but I think it ought to be stated once and for all that for any Member oY Parliament to feci that he has got a different standard of discipline applicable to him from the discipline which Is applicable to the least significant member of any force is to claim something that ought at once to be put an end to. The Prime Minister : I do not say that 1 can state in clear, precise, technical language the exact limit, but what I mean is this, that an officer actually serving, whether in military service, whether in the trenches or elsewhere, that be ought not to use information he gets in that capacity for the purpose of criticising

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the Comraan J, whether it is civilian or military, or tor the purpose o( praising it. It comes to the same thing. Lord H. Cecil : How would you get intelligent criticism at all ? The Prime Minister : What it really means is this, that a Member of Parlia- ment has got to choose, and that is why a choice has been given to Members of Parliament of military age by common consent of both Governments. If a inan says I am going to remain a Member of Parliament, very well, but he cannot really do both ; it is derogatory to the Service. You cannot administer any department, military, naval, or civilian, without some differences of opinion on both sides, and the only way to settle them is that there shall be no undue political interference on either side, I am certain many disputes would have been settled if they had been left alone in that respect. Sir E. Carson : May I ask whether it is not a fact that the civilian is always the judge? The Prime Minister : He certainly is. He is the bead of the Department. That is the British Constitution — that the civilian has been put there as a judge. It is even a principle of the law that the juryman, who is inexpert, is the man who sits in judgment upon even the judge. Well, he has the final say in the matter ; he is an inexpert who has the final say. Sir J. Simon : 11 the Prime Minister could, without inconvenience, add one other thing which some of us really want to know— does the view he has expressed apply to voting ? The Prime Minister : No, I think that Will be carrying it very far. To say that a Member of Parliament, In order to serve his country, may not even express the views of his constituents in the Division Lobby is carrying the matter vety far. Sir W. Essex : He might be asked which way he was going to vote, and his answer would be very significant. The Prime Minister : No man has a right to ask him which way he is going to vote. He votes. This is carrying it too far. You must apply the principles of commonsense. My grievance is that most of these criticisms arc made outside and not here. There are criticisms which are made outside. I wish they were repeated here, because this is the place to make them, this is the place to answer them ; and my grievance, and the grievance of my colleagues here, is not so much that there arc criticisms iu Parliament, but they may be hypercritical , and there is a great desire to criticise where 1 think there should be a little allowance made. But this is not the grievance ; the grievance is that the most serious criticisms are criticisms which are made outside, where you cannot have an opportunity to reply, because you cannot chase lies to every gutter. JHon. members Hear, hear! ”] II that is the sense of the House, I am glad to get it, and I hope the criticisms will be made here and then they will be anewered here. Now 1 come to deal with the general, 1 will not soy criticism, but to the general observations which have been made. I do not accept the statement made by the hon. member who comes here to speak on behalf oi those who serve in France, lor the second or third time I think, that General Trencbard has been dismissed. He insisted upon using those words. General Trenchard resigned. If the War Cabinet or his Minister bad suddenly dismissed him, that would have been a very different set of circumstances. General Tren'-hard put in bis resignation for reasons which I do not want to enter into, because it involves a dispute which the noble Lord himself , has not thought fit to enter into, as I think wisely. I do not think anything would be gained by entering into these controversies inside the Air Board. We bad to deal with a situation ! would be gained by entering where a resignation had been tendered and the question was whether it was wise to accept that resignation. The Cabinet asked General Smuts to look into the matter finally. General Smuts has rendered very great services indeed to the Air Force in the course of the last two months, ana I think that would be admitted by all those who have been working in connection with the Air Board. He has rendered very great assistance. There is no one who doubts his tact, his sagacity, and his knowledge of war. Acting upon the investiga- tions which he made, and without expressing any opinion upon the merits of dispute between these civilian beads of the Department and his Chief of the Staff, he certainly came to the conclusion that General Trenchard’s special qualities were not used to the best advantage in his position as Chief of the Air Staff. The description given by the noble Lord of General Trenchard was the descrip- tion of a great leader. He said something about Nelson and Wellington. 1 am not sure that either of them could be the Chief oi the Air Staff. In tact, anyone reading their account would come to the conclusion that Nelson certainly would not be a chief of the staff. That is not a criticism of Nelson. That is'not bis quality, and 1 agree with the noble lord that the qualities of Genera] Tren- cbard are qualities of the Nelson type — his highest qualities are Nelsonian qualities of mind and inspiration. I do not know to what extent Nelson had great qualities of organisation. He must have had them to a considerable degree, but at any rate they are the qualities of a great leader of forces. Any- one who has bad any experience at all, and even Ministers who have been for three or four years concerned in the conduct of the war must know a great deal about it, and I can assure the noble lord that there is an essentia] difference between the kind of qualities which you require for a man who sits In an ofhee to think out carefully, slowly, perhaps laboriously, plans not merely lor to- morrow, not for the day after to-morrow, but for next year, because that is the business of the Chief of the Staff of the Air Board to think out the work of the Department for months to come for this year and for next year — there is a vast difference between the qualities required for that and the qualities you require for great leadership and inspiration of the Air Force. Having been faced with the accomplished fact oi the resignation of General Trenchard having to consider as between General Trenchard and General Sykes for the positiun of Chief of the Air Staff, there was absolutely no doubt in the minds nf those who investigated the matter an behalf of the Cabinet that for that particular post General Syke’s qualities and mind were better adapted than those of General Trenchard. That is not a criticism of Genera] Trenchard, or it would have been a criticism of the Duke of Wellington or Nelson to say that they were not fitted for Chiefs of the Staff, but that they were very great leaders. That was the position with which we were confronted, and I have no doubt at all that, after looking into the matter and alter hearing what has been said ou the subject not merely by General Smuts, but by the presiding head of the Air Force, of the Air Services, that the Cabinet came to the right con- clusion. The noble lord spoke in the highest possible terms of Sir william Weir. It Is quite right. General Trenchard has rendered services to the Air Force which are incalculable, and so bas Sir William Weir ; and the services which he has rendered are not merely the services of a manufacturer who increases the supply. No one knows better than the noble lord that Sir William Weir has made his special study of the Air Forces ; lie has been thinking out the best methods of using that great service, and a good deal of the efficiency ol the Force at the present moment is due to the tact that Sir William WeiT went ontsidc his special (unctions of manufacture and thought out in advance the kind of thing that could be done by means of aeroplanes — things which were not thought of at the moment by any other expert. There are machines of a type used for particular purposes now which are there because Six William Weir thought of them in advance a year ago. It was not his function. As a matter of fact, his business was purely to manufacture machines that had been ordered lor the Air Force. Having a great knowledge of the air, feeling that a good deal could bs done outside the limits which had then been laid down for aerial activity. Sir William Weir planned machines, and now there is not a general in the Air Force who would not admit that a very large measure of the efficiency of the force is attributable entirely to the fact that Sir William Weir showed foresight which was beyond that shown by any other member of the Air Board. When you come to consider whether it is desirable to turn out the present Chief of the Staff of the Air Board and put General Trenchard in that post instead of using his services where they can be of more advantage to the Air Force, then the opinion of Sir William Weir must necessarily count with the Govern- ment. He has absolutely no doubt upon the subject — none. That Is not the best way of using the great services of General Trenchard, and there is no man with greater admiration tor General Trenchard than Sir William Weir The noble lord and the right hon. and learned gentleman know perfectly well that Sir William Weir and General Trenchard got on without any difference of opinion or any dispute. Nothing could be better than the co-operation between those two men. There has been no difficulty so far as Sir William Weir is concerned, but that is his definite and deliberate opinion that for the particular kind of work which you want a Chief of the Staff to do, General Sykes is better adapted. But he also believes that General Trenchard’s services ought to be retained in the Air Force. There was a suggestion that the command of a brigade or division of Infantry was to be given Major-General Trenchard. That was not a suggestion made by the Cabinet — not in the least. We were very much opposed on the point, and we thought that it would be a serious loss to the Air Force that a man of General Trenchard’s peculiar gifts of leadership, a man who had the confidence of the pilots to such a large extent, should not lie retained for the Air Service. It was he himself who was anxious to get the command of a brigade or division of Infantry. He pressed forit, but the Cabinet refused to sanction his being taken out of the Air Force and put in command of a division of Infantry. I am very glad to be able to say that there is now every hope that General Trenchard’s services will be retained in a position of con- siderable power in the Air Service. As a matter of fact, two or three positions were offered to him in the Air Service, but for reasons which were qu ite honourable to him he refused them. I need not go into those reasons, but I may state that he felt that he might be displacing someone or other, and a man of the honourable nature of General Trenchard did not wish to be placed in that etn- barassing and distressing position. Sir William Weir is confident, now that General Trenchard’s services are to he retained in the Air Forcef that he will not be placed in the position where there is not scope for bis varied powers in the future of the Air Force. I do ask the House to liear in mind what is best for the Air Service. According to the best advice which we have been able to obtain. General Trenchard’s services were not best utilised in the position in which he was placed. The present Chief of the Staff is a man with a mind better fitted for that kind of work. General Trenchard’s services will be utilised in another capacity in the Air Service. I wish to say one or two words about the services of Lord Rothermere. I think it is fair that the House should recognise not only the services of a great and distinguished soldier, but should also recognise the services oi a civilian rendered in very distressing circumstances. Lord Rothermere was head of the Air Service for only four mouths. During that time he bas done a good deal to reorganise that service from time to time. He was the first to set up a well- organised Air Staff. That was Lord Rothermcrc’s achievement, and not a small one. Before that there was no Air Staff at alL The men who were fighting in the field had their minds taken np, of course, naturally with the tremendous strain of preparing for the struggle from day to day.; The Air Staff ought to be in a position remote from the tumult of the battle where they can consider the whole problem of the air not merely for the moment but for months to come. Lord Rothermere organised a very efficient Air Staff. The second thing he did was to achieve a very necessary fusion between the various branches of the Air Force, military and naval. Everybody knows what a difficult thing that was, and nobody knows it better than my right hon. friend opposite (Mr. Asquith) — what a very difficult thing it was to reconcile Ibe various claims oi the different branches of the service, that have created a good deal of difficulty aud delay in the past. Here, for the first time, we have a real fusion, and that is the work of Lord Rothermere. I am perfectly certain that the Committee will be not only willing, but anxious to acknowledge the distinguished services of General Trencbard, and at the same time will be ready to acknowledge the great work done by Lord Rothermere in the course ol three or four months. 1 would make an appeal to the House and would say that here you have as the head of the Air Ministry one who, the noble lord admits, was the best possible choice for the post — a man of great experience, of great sagacity, and a man in whom the officers ol the Air Service itself have the greatest confidence. We have made inquiries upon that subject and without exception they gave the same answer expressing their confidence. I am perfectly certain that the House and the country will he anxious to give Sir William Weir every opportunity to do his best to increase the efficiency of the force especially at a time when there is such a great strain upon it. This is a moment when the Air Force is being put to such a lest as it never bas had before, and it has emerged triumphantly out of that test. Never in the whole history of the Air Force have our aviators rendered such service to the Army as they have during this great battle which is going on. It is our business to do all that we can do support and sustain it. Everything should be done that can be done to avoid friction, differences, and dispute, and I do not think that there will be any perpetuation of this controversy in the Air Force Itself. I do not conjecture — I know that General Trenchard is the last man in the world to desire that . He is only too willing and anxious to co-operate with the present head of the Air Force, and I do trust that the House, without entering into disputes which are thoroughly unprofitable, while there may be a good deal to be said on both sides, will now allow the new Air Minister the opportunity of deyeloping on a greater scale, with the assistance oi an extremely able Chief of Staff and the co-operation of General Trenchard in that new sphere which 1 hope he will soon occupy— that the House will without any further contro- versy allow these developments to take place, in order to enable the Air Force to render in future even more brilliant service than they hare done in the past. Mr. Asquith : There are points in the speech just made by the Prime Minister which I think all the House will have beard with much satisfaction, or, if not with much satisfaction, at least with considerable satisfaction. The first is the welcome intelligence that the unrivalled services, for such they are, of General Trenchard in the Air Service are to be retained in the Air Force and not diverted to some much less appropriate service. We should be glad to know wbat par- ticular functions have been assigned to bim. It is not enough that he is not to take one of the offices which he has chivalrously refused to take on the ground that he might supersede others : what we would like to know is whether he is vagueness and uncertainty. The second point in my right hon. friend s speech, which 1 think was generally acquiesced in by the House, was his expression of heart felt sympathy with the personal disabilities that have fallen upon Lord Rothermere - and, next, in his equally heartfelt recognition of the eminent qualifications ol his successor lor the post to which he has been appointed. Having made this acknowledgment, I feel bound to say one or two words of comment perhaps of criticism, on what has fallen from the Prime Minister. I will deal first with the question of the limitation of the duties of Members of the House of Commons who have taken active service in the War, in regard to their speeches and their votes in this House. Let me say at once that I do not think that there is any canon that the Prime Minister laid down to which my noble friend who took part in the debate has shown himself in the least degree

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May 2, 1918. obnoxious. I am goiag to examine what those canons are, because it is very important. I nave suffered as much as anybody from information given and mtiuuice exercised by irresponsible military persons in regard to the conduct of the war , and on that I hold quite as strong an opinion as my right hen. lri« i d an opinion to which he gave effect when he was Secretaiy icr Wai— that tl at should be rigidly curtailed. So long as a member of this house does not utilise directly or indirtctlv inf c r- mat ion which, as a man of honour 05 well as a servant of the Crown, it is bis business to keep to himself, in my opinion he should have the fullest latitude to exercise his Parliamentary duties, and ihe duly he ewes to fcis constituency and to the State. * I Pas* from that to say a word or two, and they shall be very brief, aln ut the particular subject of this discussion. Let me sav at cnce. lest 1 she u!d tall under suspicion, that I have not, and 1 regret it very much, the hcncur 01 the personal acquaintance of General Trcnchaid. but 1 knew u grtat deal abut him. I have followed the history of the Air Service from its cradle c awards, and in those infantile days, long before the war, we owe an enormous deal to men whose services in that respect are now hardly remembered, particularly hon. and gallant friend now fighting at the front who was then Secretary of State for War (Brigadier-General Seely), and 1 will add, and very gladly ado, General Sykes, who has now- been appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Air Force. When 1 was Secretary of State for War, seme time before war bre kc out, I was brought into full cognisance of his grtat expert knowledge in these matters. The Air Service in those days was what I described, I think truly, as almost in its cradle ; its development was very largely due, mere perhaps than to almost any other military officer in the State, to Sir David HendeTscn. a very distinguished officer, who knows more, ns my noble frirnd said, and said truly, knows probably more of the inside and the outside of aerial matters and their technical military application than any man new alive. Put when it had reached man’s estate and was actually organist d in the shape in which we now know it to our pride, in which it has acquired in Prance practically tin mastery of the air, there is not a man in the Air Service— and 1 speak for myself, for 1 was then in office and had ample opportunity tor first-hand observation — there is not a man in this country to whom it is under such a debt of obligation as Sir Hugh 'Irene hard. When jieople talk with that superficial and often colossal ignorance to which we are accustomed in certain of ourcritic?, when they speak of General Trcnchaid as a man deficient in powers of organisation, they are talking what anyone who knows anything ol the Air Force or of General Trcnchaid knows to te absolute nonsense. I have seen a great deal of organisaticn, military, naval and civilian, and I say without hesitation 1 have never ccme across a finer organiser than Sir Hugh Trenchard. He was appointed, and 1 think wisely appointed, Chief of the Staff. That apj>oinimcnt was not made, 1 presume, without full consideration of fhc claims and qualifications of possible com- petitors. Without a dissentient voice, so far as 1 knew, in the Army, Navy, or Air Service itself, he was nominated to lli.it post. W« do not know now how it was that it was discovered that his special qualifications were not parti- cularly fitted for what seemed to bo, in the opinion of some authorities at any rate, the very mysterious and nebulous function, that of Chief of the Staff. Something has happened which still remains undisclosed .something has happened which convinced— -whom ? — convinced Lord Rothcrmrre, who was then head of the Department, that whatever other qualifications General Trenchard might possess he was not the right man to lx- Chief of the Staff. It would apjxar that this resignation, held over for more than a fortnight, was, in the middle of this great battle, accepted by the War Cabinet without any communication with General Trenchard himself. I must say I think that was a regrettable proceeding, particularly as wc do not know and arc still in ignorance of the points of difference between General Trenchard and his civilian superior. Sir E. Carson : I do not profess to know a great deal about the Air Service, nor do I feel very enlightened after the sjieeches which have been made as to what was the reason why General Trenchard was driven out of his appointment. 1 know the distinction is drawn between resignation and dismissal, but, believe me, the line Is very narrow. I know this much : I know that a gfreat, fierce, courageous, patriotic soldierlike Sir Hugh Trenchard would never have chucked his job when the great battle approached unless he felt himself driven to it. 1 do not think in all my long experience in the housp 1 have ever known a rase which has created such universal anxiety in a service as the retirement of Sir Hugh Trenchard has in the Air Service. I know very few of those gentlemen, but I have heard in the past week or ten days a good many of them talk upon this subject — and I do not suppose the Prime Minister objects to officers talking to members of Parliament — and one and all — men I had never seen before- told me the same thing, that the soui had gone out of the Air Service when Sir Hugh Trenchard had gone. What did that mean ? This is not an old Service with a large reserve of living officers. It is a young sendee which cannot appeal to its Nelson, its Wellington, or anybody else. It is a service almost made by Sir Hugh Trenchard — a service in which youth, nerve, courage, trust, arc every - thing, aud from what thev told me I believe the whole of our superiority in these qualities was derived in the main from the great confidence they had in Sir Hugh Trenchard being at the head of the Air Service as Chief of Staff. This is really a very serious matter. I agree with my right hon. friend who has just spoken that it is some consolation to know that the debate is not in vain, as we do know that Sir Hugh Trenchard is to be retained in the Air Service, and we are grateful to the Government for it. Wc would like to know what is the position he is to have. May we hear before the debate is over what the Government contemplate ? It cannot l>e some petty position. It must be somewhere where the public are assured that the appointment to which General Trenchard is to go is a reality in which he will vitalise, as he did in the past, the whole Service over which he so ably presided. That is essential Iran what I am told, in the interests of the Air Service, particularly at the present moment. For my own part, I greatly regret that Lord Rothermere, for reasons with which we all sympathise, had to retire from his great post, and as all we know is that this retirement of Sir Hugh Trenchard happened merely through disagreement with Lord Rothermere, it really would seem to be common sense that, as Lord Rothermere has gone, and he is no longer there to disagree with him, the man who was so essential up to the day of sending in his resignation might again be equally essential without any friction whatever. The Prime Minister : In response to the appeal from my two right hon. friends, perhaps I had better read the very words in which the new head of the Air Ministry refers to the employment of General Trenchard : — “ He is not prepared to allow the Air Force to lose the great qualities and unique experience of General Trenchard, and proposes to offer him a position in which these qualities and experience will find an outlet of the greatest value to the force. He asks that the House will not press for a definition of the positicu at the present time, and asks roe to say that it is not a position created for General Trenchard, but one directly associated with his own aerial policy." Major Sir John Simon: The position, so far as I have been able to see it — and, of course, I am only speaking within the limits of my own knowledge — is this : The Air Force, inasmuch as it is quite a new force, depends, as anvbodv who lives among those squadrons can sec every day, depends more than any other force under the Crown on the confi- dence which those very young men — and they are extremely young men — have in the people whom they regard — and there are a very limited number of people whom they regard necessarily as the heads who control them. The question is very largely a question of psychology. It is no exaggeration to say— and I assure the Committee I am not saying this from any desire to be controversial or unpleasant— it is no exaggeration to say that the news of the recent loss of General Trenchard struck these young men as nothing less than an almost deadly blow. They wholly failed to understand U. If you want to make them laugh go and tell than that General Trenchard does uot understand staff work. During the last two or three years — and 1 am going to say what cann it b * gainsaid or contradicted — there has not been a single development of aircraft at the front in which you cannot trace the active and acute imagina- tion and organisation of this distinguished soldier. I well remember when 1 first went out to France learning that it was thought that what was called low flight would come shortly into play. The idea had been that an air machine was a machine that worked at a great height. Low flying, which has developed very much by us in the battle of Cambrai — and that saved the British Armies in the great recent battles — low flying was antic ipated, worked out, developed, and organised by General Trenchard in the course of the last year or two. Exactly the saute thing applies to photographic reconnaissance, bombing, and all sorts of uses to which these machines have been put, and it is therefore really the height of absurdity — there is no other word which can he used — to speak of him as if he were a person who got merely qualities of leadership in Ihe held, and did not understand what is called the strategy of the air. I do not claim any overwhelming knowledge about It. 1 can only say that I have never failed to hear in any quarter. or at any time, from any Army officer oi any rank, any other verdict than "this : that the mauuer in which the dis- tinguished soldier at the head of the Air Force hat tactfully adjusted and managed difficulties between these two branches ot the Service compels the admiration of everyone. In their co-operation with other branches, and with the infantry, it cannot be said to the Air Force : " You take so many miles of trench and we will take other portions of the front." You cannot divide up the air like that, as lion, members know very well ; and it is not a very easy thing to co-operate, in view of the constant pressure, aud perhaps misunderstand- ing, even with the most gallant and devoted Allies. It is well known out in France — I do not know how manv members here know it — that when General Trenchard left his command in France and came over here by Lctd Rot her mcre’s own invitation to accept the place which Lord Rothermere assigned to him, he, on that occasion, wrote a letter to the F’rench Flying Corps. The distinguished French general who is at the head of the Flying Corps made that letter an order of the day and jwraded every French air squadron In order that it might be read to them. That was the way they regarded the position General Trenchard had in our own Flying Corps. 1 take as a third example the co-operation of the Americans. There is not an Amcricau in the hiving Corps who would not tell you that whatever criticism may be made on this distinguished man, in organism irn and in tact be has- exhibited great qualities. Mr. Jovnson-Hkks, after paying n tribute to the work of General Trenchard, said he thought in fairness he ought to vay that in General Salmond, who suc- ceeded General Trenchard in Frame, they had a magnificent officer trained under General Trenchard, and who is rapidly acquiring, and indeed, has acquired to some extent, the compliments and hr hoped would acquire the devotion ol these young men in the same way that General Trenchard did. Mr. Jovnanu- Hicks gave some personal impressions of General Trenchard’ s work as ho saw it during the Battle of Mrs si nr* Hr went on to sav there was scope for General Trenchard in the Flying Corps if the work of the Chief of the Staff be routined to the work of the Chief of the Imperial General Staff dealing with the strategy of the war in the air. If General Trenchard is not to be Chief of the General Staff, he knew no man better able to surcccd him than General Sykes. He hod a great deal to do with the original organisation, and was nn officer win* had shown great ability, determination, mitl devotion to duty. It was understood that the general in command of training was giving up hi> nosition, and is now in France. He suggested that the Government could not an bettor than hand over the entire management- -training, discipline and recreation — to General Trenchard. Brig. •General McCalm*mt said he did not think any member of the Air Force had any right to go to the House of Commons and praise the present Chief of the General Staff or the late Chief. He could not recall having heard a single officer of the Army and Navy in that House criticise his superiors or for that matter praise his superiors, and he could sec no reason why that same custom should not be handed down to members of the Air Force. Brig. -General Croft : The Prune Minister said that Sir Hugh Trenchard, for reasons of chivalry which we all can admire, did not want ti* displace another officer and do him out of a job. That point of view ought not to weigh with the Government. At the time Sir Hugh Trenchard was appointed to the Air Board some of my friends verv much regretted that he was g< iug from supreme command of the Air Force in the field. If he Is the best man, there ought to be no question of etiquette, chivalry, or anything else. Even though we all admit tnc splendid qualities in the other officer who is there, this is not the time for these small difference*. We want the man who hat been thinking about this question, who bus considered the question of the new aerodromes and retirement or advance. We want him back in his supreme position in the fickl if his qualities are not sufficient for the work of the Chief of the Air Staff. 1 would throw out this suggestion to the Under-Secretary of State, and 1 hope hr will convcv it to his colleagues in the Government. Sir W. Essex : I neither desire nor am I qualified to go over the grounds of policy which it is desirable for Members of the House to follow, whether they arc serving with the Colours, or, like me, unfortunately compelled to be but private Members. I have listened with great interest to the arguments laid dowm on onr side or the other. 1 was struck by some remarks made by the Prime Minister and the rx-Priine Minister betokening their griuTnl agreement with the suggestion that they had both, for some considerable time prior to the formation, or even the consideration of the formation of an Air Board for the control of what had hitherto been two separate and distinct forces, entertained a very high opinion of the suitability for such an office of Sir William Weir, and yet alter that two other names were given, both were appointed, and he who they now sav was undoubtedly the best man then, as now. available for the headship of this joint Board was passed over. If Sir William Weir in those bygone days twelve months ago was the best man, one wants to know — I speak with all the limitations laid upon me necessarily by the knowledge that the man is ill and iu domestic trouble, yet in the interests of the public service let it be asked why Sir William Weir was passed over, first for one and then for another, anti that other a journalist and a member of n family which some think has had by far too much influence in the Government of this country. The right hon. gentleman (Mr. Asquith) put bis finger upon one matter verv carefully but very surely, as is his wont, when he said that as between his chief and Sir Hugh Trenchard something had happened. I do not want to probe into that too closely or find out whai it was, but I suggest that what was the matter was a thing that mattered all through the office. I hope the hon. and gallant gentleman (Major Baird) will be able to reassure the Committee that under its now chief the general disquiet and unrest of the Air Board will cease. I want to ask him how many resignations have been offered within the lost six months? We have only dealt with this big outstanding figure, General Trenchard, but he is not the only person of importance who has resigned. How many others ? D«»es the list include the hon. and gallant gentleman himself ? Is he going to resign, or U his resignation on the Tabic unaccepted or not withdrawn ? Mr. Billing : My advice to the Government to-day is the same advice that 1 offered them two and a half years ago, and that is that they will never get an amalgamation between the Pukka naval man and the Pukka Army man. The difference between the Air Service of the Armv and the Air Service of the Navy are fundamental. On the top of that there is a separate and distinct Service, which we have a right to expect from the Air Ministry, and that is raiding pure and simple. The types of machines which these three Services require arc 493

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May 2, 1918. different : the types of pilots they require are different, and the types of training are different. If we could l>ok to one head in this House of the three particular Services, as we could do, if General Trcnchard were in supreme command oi thcmilltary branch, responsible directly only to the Minister ; if a naval officer with adequate nautical experience were found to be placed in supreme command of the naval branch ; and if another officer were found to be put in supreme command of the third, and in many ways the most important branch. I think you would abolish once and for all the friction, the intrigue, and the wilful waste of material and personnel which is going on to-day. Major Baird : The subject under discussion is the Vote for the Secretary of State, who was only app dated yesterday. Of course, this discussion was arranged when the previous Secretary of State was holding office and the particular point arising out of his action in accepting General Trcnchard *s resignation ho*, been very widely discussed. 1 would like, if I may, in a very few words, to draw attention to what the Air Force has done since -the last occasion when I had the honour of bringing the matter before the House. I can do it very concisely. I think the House will appreciate a letter which General Salmond. the officer in command, wrote to General Trcnchard on the th April, after the German offensive had been continued for a fortnight. These are General Sahuond’s words : ^ wish you would express to the President, members of the Air Council, and all concerned, iny thanks, and those of all serving with me, for the wonderful promptness with which all our heavy demands have been met to the full. It has helped us to keep going, and the knowledge that we are so strongly backed home gives us the utmost confidence in the future.” There is another point t'> which I would like to invite the attention of the Committee, and it is this, that this work has been carried out by the officers and officials of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service at the Hote l Cecil at a time when the amalgamation of the organisation of the two forces was proceeding. They have not onlv-beeu able to meet the tremendous demands that were sent front the front, but they have been able to carry out the ainalgatniti m of the two Services with the minimum amount of friction. Of course, it is not perfect, but they have done these things in such a manner that the hop? I ventured to express when the Estimates were before the House that the amalgamation might be brought about early in the financial year has been more than rcmlisrd, as it became actually effective on the first day of the vear. That ought to be borne in mind, because, in speaking as we do rightly md naturally of the great gallantry of the officers and men at the front, do not let us forget that their efforts would be of no avail were it not for the manner in which they have been supported by the officers and officials working in the different departments at the Hotel Cecil. There is another matter I must touch upon. The quality of the pilots has steadily increased. The number has. of c:>ur*e, increased, and we hive met all their demands. General Salmond tokl me this morning that the quality of the pilots has constantly been going up. At the start of the offensive a large number had to be rushed across, but then has at the same time been a emtinuous improvement in their quality, and there are interesting figures I should like to give the House dealing with that, figures which show, 1 think, in the m »st conclusive manner the growth in our superiority over the enemy. Our losses iu the air during the month of March last — losses of all kinds, killed, wounded, missing and prisoners — were almost the same as the losses we suffered in the month of April last year from the same causes. Hon. Members will remember that in April last year wc were engaged in winning supremacy in the air in the Battle of the Soinme. In March this vear we have again been engaged in a tremendous battle, and, as I said, our losses from all causes were practically the same in both months, while the number of German machines definitely ascertained ‘to be destroyed — known to have crashed — is three and a half times as large as the total for last year. I think these two points are quite enough to convince hon. Members of the value of the work done. The new Secretary of State has taken over a very difficult charge. He ha*, the complete confidence of every man and woman connected with the Air Force, and 1 beg hon. Members also to give him the same full and complete confidence, and thus afford him a chance of justifying the appointment. There is only one other point on which I wish to touen. General Salmond tells me that never during the whole of these operations which have been in progress, on any single morning, has the Royal Air Force been short of more than three machines, and when hon. Members consider what that means, what organisation is involved in getting the machines out and securing pilots to take them out, they will realise that it if- reallv a gigantic and colossal undertaking. Of course, I cannot give the figures, nr the Committee would more fully appreciate the extent of that undertaking. I have mentioned these facts in order to eudeavour to impress on the Committee that, though everything may not be perfect — indeed, nothing can be perfect — there is every ground for the belief that the Air Force i? progressing on sound lines. It has complete and absolute confidence in its Secretary of State, and the Secretary of State has asked me to say that, although he is not a Member of this House, he hopes that, when he has got into the saddle-, hon. Members witt give him an opportunity of meeting them in a Committee Room, when he will be able to explain his position and policy. Question put, M That a sum, not exceeding £900, be granted to His Majesty for the said Service.” The Committee divided *: Ayes, 37 ; Noes, 127. The main question was theu put and agreed, as were theothcr token resolutions for the Air Force «> AIRCRAFT WORK AT THE FRONT. OFFICIAL INFORMATION. British. General Headquarters, April zyd. 44 On the 22nd inst. another useful day's work w'as done by our aeroplanes. Several long-distance reconnaissances w’ere carried out and many photographs were taken. Our bombing machines were very active and dropped 19 tons of bombs on numerous targets, including Thourout railway station, Engel ammuni- tion dump, Warneton, Armenticres, and Roulers. The fighting in the air was not heavy considering the fine weather and the amount of work done by our artillery, reconnaissance, and bombing machines. Seven hostile aeroplanes were brought down and six others driven down out of control. In addition, one German machine was shot down in our lines by our anti-aircraft fire, and two hostile balloons were destroyed by our aeroplanes. Three of our machines are missing." General Headquarters , April 24th. “ On the 23rd inst. the weathpr was not very favourable tor flying until 5 p.m., after which hour some sharp fighting took place in the air. Low reconnaissances and artillery work were carried out throughout the day, and Merville, Estaires, Stecnwerck, La Gorguc, Chaulncs railway junction, anti the docks at Os tend were heavily bombed. Fourteen hostile machines were brought down and two others driven down out of control. Another German machine was brought down in our lines by our anti-aircraft fire. One of our aeroplanes is missing . “ Du» tug the night flying squadrons dropped over 20 tons of bombs on different targets, including Roulers, Merville, Armenticres, Bapaume, the railway station at Chuiilnes. Thourout, Toumai, Courtrai, and the docks at Zeebrugge. Direct hits were obtained on all these targets ; in several cases fires were started. All our machines returned." General Headquarters , April 25/A. 44 On the 24th inst. mist again hampered work in the air. Our aeroplanes on the southern part of the British front carried out several low reconnaissances, and engaged the enemy’s attacking troops in the neighbourhood of Villers- Bretpnncux with bombs and machine-gun fire from a very low height. Two hostile machines were brought down in combat and another was shot down in our lines by our infantry. Two of our machines arc missing. "During the night the southern portion of the front was covered in mist, and our machines were unable to leave the ground. In the notv._, however, 5l tons of b.mibs were dropped bv us ou Estaires, Armentier^s, Roulers, and the railway statiuus at Courtrai and Thourout. All our machines returned.” Genera I Headquarters, Abril 26/A. " On the 25th inst. mist during the morning and thunderstorms later in the day prevented much flying being accomplished until the evening. In the northern area, however, the enemy's positions in the neighbourhood of Kemmcl were reconnoitred by our machines, our pilots being compelled to fly within a few feet of the ground in order to make observation possible. Six hundred and fifty bombs were dropped by us on Menin, Roulers, Annentifires, and on the enemy’s billets. Ten hostile machines were brought down in air fighting and two others were driven dowu out of control. Four other German machines were shot dowu by anti-aircraft gunfire and one by fire from our infantry. Two of our machines arc missing." War Office , April 27/A. “ Salonica. — On April 21st a hostile aeroplane was driven down out of control near Barak li-Druma (south west of Demir-Hissar). " Mesopotamia.— On April 21st one of our aeroplanes brought down a hostile machine ; the occupants, both of w'hom were German, were killed." General Headquarters, April z7lk. "On the 26th inst., except for low reconnaissances of the battle front, little flying was possible owing to thick mist. Two low-flying German aeroplanes were brought down by our infantry. None of our machines is missing.” Admiralty, April 27th. 44 On April 23rd, Durazzo was attacked by British air forces. The only nian- ol -war in the harbour wa* one gunbaal. Our machines attacked the seaplane base, dropping nearly a ton ot b jmbs, with apparently successful results. All our machines returned safely to their base." General Headquarters, April iSlk. "On the 27th inst. thick fog again prevented flying except for a few low r-*c juuaissances of the batle front. Only two flights took place, in one oi which a hostile machine was brought down. None of our machines is missing." General Headquarters, April 29/A. '* Bey and carrying out one or two low-flying reconnaissances and dropping a few biub; on various targets, our aeroplanes were unable to do any flying on th; 28th inst. on arcount 0/ low clouds, mist, and rain.” French. Paris, April 2$th. " During April 22nd and 23rd seven German aeroplanes and a captive balloon were brought d »wn by our pilots. Ten other machines fell in their lines severely damaged as the result of combats. It is confirmed that two enemv aeroplanes reported as driven down out of control on the 20th were reallv brought down. Five other German machines and a captive balloon wero also destroyed ou the 2tst, in addition to those already indicated in the communique of that date. " On April 23rd, and during the night of April 23rd-24th, 5,000 kilogrammes of projectiles were dropped by our bombers on the stations of Nesle, Roy, and Chaulnes. Oar aeroplanes further carried out numerous attacks with machine guus on gatherings of enemy troops." Paris, April 26th. " Sahnic.i.— Two enemy aeroplanes have been brought down." Paris , A pril 29/A. " Twj G?rman aeroplanes were brought down by our pilots during April 27th. Ou th= same day our bimbarding machines dropped 6 tons of bombs ou establishments in the enemy zone." Belgian. Havre, April 27th. 4 in the course of a fi?ht, three of our airmen attacked four German aeroplanes forming part of a squadron of marc than 20 machines and brought down one, waich fell iu flames iu our lilies." Italian. Rome, April 24/A. British airmen shot down two enemy aeroplanes over Lcvuco, and two more near Mt. Lisser. A fifth was hit by our own airmen and fell in the vicinity of Vidor. “ During the day of April 22nd, in spite of unfavourable weather conditions, our hydro-aero)>lanes were active in the Upper Adriatic. Reconnoitring machines having observed in the neighbourhood of Pola and Rovigui move- ments of uuerny torpedo craft and small cargo ships, one of our bombing squadrons made an attack during the morning and succeeded iu getting two direct hits on a torpedo boat. In the afternoon a surprise attack was made on a warship in the Fasaua Canal, which was protected by torpedo boats and hydro- aeroplanes. One hydro-aeroplane was brought down by our machines anil fell into the sea in pieces. The warship and the torpedo craft were heavily bombed. One of our machines was damaged and forced to land in the sea very near the enemy coast, but the other machines, in spite of the heavy sea, succeeded in descending and saving the pilot, whom they brought back safely to the base. Our mactiiues were the object of intense anti-aircraft fire and attacks from enemy machines.” Rome, April 26/A. 41 In air combats over Conegliano our aviators brought down two enemy machines." German. Berlin, April 23rd. 44 During the last two days 30 enemy aeroplanes were brought down. Lieut Buckler achieved his 32nd victory and Lieut. Monckhofl his 25th." Berlin, April 24/A. 44 Cavalry Captain Baron von Richthofen has not returned from his pursuit of an enemy across the Somme battlefield. According to an English report he has fallen.” Turkish. Constantinople , April 2 yd. 44 On the Palestine front one of our aeroplanes brought down in aerial combat an enemy machine behind our lines." Constantinople , April 27/A. 44 One enemy aeroplane was brought down in the neighbourhood ot Nablus. The observer was killed. The pilot was wounded and taken prisoner.” 494

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SIDE-WINDS. By way of celebrating a « milestone " in their history the staff and employees of the Gallay Radiator Co.. Ltd., held a dinner at Frascati's on April 27th. Mr. L. T. Delaney, the managing director, was in the chair, and among the guests were Capt. Kennedy, of the Air Ministry, Lieut. Hall, of the Nieuport Co., and Lieut. Victor Stringer. Mr. R. Harding proposed Success to the Firm. " and in responding Mr. Rae, of the Sheet Metal Trades Union, strongly emphasised the loyalty to the cause of the whole of the workers and said the trouble which -had occurred was due not to them, but was forced upon them by the inaction of the powers-that-be in ignoring their representations. In replying to the toast of “ Our Guests," Capt. Kennedy pointed out the importance of the work in hand, and urged the workers to do their utmost to expedite matters. They had attained one (very excellent) milestone, but he felt sure it would not be long before they had passed another. Following the dinner an excellent concert was given which showed that there is a great deal of talent — apart from sheet metal working — among the Gallay workers. After their strenuous labours during the past few months, the employees of Messrs. Adam, Grimaldi and Co. spent a very pleasant evening on April 20. at the Caxton Hall. Westminster. It was the second social and dance, and the social committee at the end of the evening could have been in no doubt that their efforts had been crowned with success. For those who trip the “ light fantastic " a programme of twenty-one items had been arranged with Mr. Joyce's band supplying the music. Wliile for those who preferred a more restful evening there was a splendid concert. Among those who contributed to this side were Miss P. Tipping, Miss Hagues, Mrs. Dell, Miss Palmer, Messrs. E. Smith. A. Smith, V. Williams, Ford, Beale, W. House, and Master Woodin, who was the “star ” of the evening. The whole of the organisa- tion reflected the greatest credit upon the committee and the hon. secretary, Mr. W. J. House. During the evening a collection was made on behalf of the Red Cross Fund and £4 was raised. In the little note last week regarding the migration of Messrs. Whiteman and Moss to 35, Long Acre, a slip on the part of the printer occurred in the telegraphic address. Although few probably noticed this, it may be as well to make it clear that the correct telegraphic address is “ Whitomoss Rand London.” Well up to time comes the May moon chart, devised by s s Sir Henry Norman Resigns. It was announced on Tuesday that Sir Henry Norman, M.P., resigned his position as an Additional Member of the Air Council on Saturday, the day on which the appointment of a successor to Lord Rothermere was announced. The Parliamentary Air Committee. The Parliamentary Air Committee followed up Monday's debate by passing the following resolutions on April 30th : — (1) That this Committee desires to place on record its un- bounded admiration of the magnificent work done by the Royal Air Service at the front during the recent fighting. (2) That this Committee desires to place on record its ad- miration of the immense services rendered by General Sir Hugh Trenchard to the cause of military aviation, and wel- comes the promise of the Prime Minister with regard to the retention of his services for the Air Force. The Committee also invited the Air Minister and the Minister of Munitions to meet them. Air Raid Souvenirs : a Warning. The public are officially reminded that any brass parts of exploded anti-aircraft shell found after an air raid should be handed over at once to the police for return to the military authorities. No unexploded shell should be touched, but the attention of the police should be drawn to where it is lying, in order that arrangements may be made for its removal by the military. T wo Hours Uncontrolled. “An extraordinary incident occurred to one of ourmachines a short time ago,” says Mr. Perry Robinson in a dispatch from France. “ It was a two-seater, and gave bactle to an enemy machine, which was shot down and crashed. After the battle, which took place just over our lines near Arras, our aeroplane was seen going ofl southwards, apparently only partially under control, and it disappeared. Where it went after that will never be known, but more than two hours later Mr. A. H. MiJgby, the’chief engineer of Messrs. C. A. Van- dervell and Co. Anyone who would like a copy should write to the firm at Acton, W. 3. It clearly shows the daily change in the phase of the moon and also the times of sunset and sunrise. It was a happy idea of one of the directors of the Blackburn Aeroplane and Motor Co., Ltd., to ask the Earl of Denbigh to address the employees at Leeds, for Lord Denbigh has seen active service in the East, and knows, at first hand, something of Germany's ambitions there. Although his leave in England has been fully occupied, Lord Denbigh at once complied, and before he left the works he had ample evidence that this trespass on his time had been greatly appreciated. In his plain, soldierly style. Lord Denbigh, with the aid of some practical war maps, showed in a very graphic manner what Germany was aiming at in getting a direct read through Serbia to Bagdad and the Far East. After referring to the disclosures of Prince Lichnowsky, as showing clearly Ger- many's motive in producing this war, Lord Denbigh concluded his speech with a rousing appeal to all the men and girls to put their shoulders to the wheel in the present grave national emergency. Germany had gone to war because she had found war to be a paying business in the past, and it was for us now to show her that war did not pay, and that militarism was a blunder. When Germany found that war did not pay, she would be a peaceful and perhaps useful neighbour, but the worst thing that could happen to civilisa- tion— and particularly to Great Britain — would be a pro- mature peace. A hearty vote of thanks to Lord Denbigh and to the Lord Mayor of Leeds, who presided, was passed with acclamation. ’ Loro Ashcombe, on April 29th, at the works of the White- head Aircraft Company, presented to Mr. Herbert Sykes, the official tester, the medal of the Order of the British Empire, awarded to him by the King for bravery in continuing to test aircraft after an accident. Although he has had between 3,000 and 4,000 flights, Mr. Sykes has had only one accident. In the New Companies registration column this week will be found the registration of the General Aeronautical Co., Ltd., and the British Emmaillite Co., Ltd. This is the re- formal, the result of a reconstruction scheme, of the two companies, whereby they now become entirely British, and the formality of " winding up " the old companies of the same name will follow as a pure matter of legal routine. 0 0 the same machine crashed to earth some 20 miles behind our lines. The petrol tank was empty, and both occupants had been dead for some time, killed by the same bullet. The opinion of experts is that the machine had flown by itself for at least two hours with two dead men in it until the petrol was exhausted, having swung off in a great circle over unknown lands and back to behind the starting-place, as boats have been known to sail with sheets made fast and a dead man's hand on the tiller." Aeroplanes from Canada. The Canadian aviation fund launched under the patronage of the Duke of Connaught, which has presented 17 machines to the fighting forces, now amounts to over £33,500. Steel for Aeroplane Wings. It is stated that the Superior Steel Company of Carnegie in the United States is filling a large Government contract for what is said to be the thinnest sheet steel ever rolled, and which is 1f> be used to make wings for American fighting planes for use in France, replacing the present linen fabric wing. The Superior Company is also making steel-frame rods to support the new wings. The steel for wings is one-thousandth of an inch thick. The new wings are said to be tear-proof, differing from the fabric wings, inasmuch as, though pierced by a bullet, they will not tear, no matter what the speed of the plane. U.S. Seeking Steel Propeller. The American National Advisory Committee on Aero- nautics is inviting engineers to give their attention to the fuestion of producing a steel air-screw of variable pitch. he first requisite is for a propeller which will enable an engine to maintain constant speed at all altitudes, while the second requisite is that the air-screw be constructed of steel, because it is believed that this will be the ultimate material for pro- pellers. Designs, photographs and brief descriptions should be sent to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, Munsey Building, Washington, D.C.

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May 2, 1018. Nailed to the Counter. The following statement was included in the official German wireless news of April 24th : — " From papers found on American airmen who were shot down it has been proved that for their own safety many of them crossed over on hospital ships certified as members of the American Ambulance Service in France." The Sc Cretan- of the Admiralty makes the following state- ment : — V Np hospital ship, British or American, has ever carried anybody but invalids and the. necessary medical staff. Further there are no hospital ships working the cross-channel route ; the whole statement is therefore a fabrication. " The American naval and military' authorities state that they have some few airmen who were in the Allied Ambulance Service in France before the United States came into the war ; but even in such cases these men crossed the Atlantic in the ordinary ships, taking their full chance of being tor- pedoed." General March, United States Chief of Staff, brands the German report as an " incredible falsehood." Changes In U.S. Air Board. It was announced from Washington on April 24th that Mr. John D. Ryan, the copper magnate, has been appointed Director of Aircraft Production under the scheme of re- organisation. When the Army experts have decided upon the types and quantities they require Mr. Ryan will be charged with the task of producing them. An Aeronautics Division has been created under Brigadier-General Willi; m Ktrly Yeading and General Squier, who was one of the pioneers of military aeronautics in America, will devote his attenticn to signals. The Aircraft Board remains in an advisory capacity with Mr. Ryan as chairman, in succession to Mr. Howard Coffin, who resigned. U.S. Aviators at Windsor. The King and Queen, who entertain weekly parties of oversea soldiers at Windsor Castle, invited a party of officers and men from an American air squadron now quartered in the country to visit the Castle recently. The visitors, who arrived in brakes, and included over 100 men, were accompanied by Major F. G. Noel, of the R.A.F. The Ameri- can officers, who were afterwards presented to their Ma- jesties, were Lieut. J. H. Adoue (Texas), Lieut. PI. C. Fisher (Texas), Medical Officer L. Elliott (New York), 2nd Lieut. N. F. Murray (Illinois), and Lieut. P. S. Brinsmede (New York City). Mr. Crewe, of the American Y.M.C.A., was also with the party-. The visitors, after seeing some of the most interesting parts of the Castle, were entertaimd at tea in St. George’s Hall. The King and Queen, who were accompanied by Princess Mary and Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, spent some time chatting with members of the party', and expressed their appreciation of the excellent work the Americans are doing for the Allied cause. CORRESPONDENCE. Safety for Forced Landings. [1958] May I ask the courtesy' of your columns to enquire if steps have ever been taken to mark all fields in England suit- able for forced landings ? A wind cone set up in such fields, or at least in those near aerodromes, would enable cross-country fliers to know instantly where to land and in what direction. The material required would merely be a bit of whalebone, an old skirt and a pole which any' farm wife would gladly fumish : and the work entailed could easily be doqp by any farm boy. Such thoroughness might save a few lives and any' number of undercarriages and wing-tips. If it saved one life, it would be an economy'. L. W. Fawcett. E E E E PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. An Aerial Race between a Briton and a German. From a Mock-Heroic Poem Printed in 1 751 . London : Chiswick Press. The Russian Riddle. By Zinovy N. Preev. London: John Bale, Sons and Daniclsson, Ltd., 83,-91, Great Titchficld Street, W. 1. Price 6 d. net. How on Aeroplane is Built. By Stephen Blakency. Lon- don : Aeroplane and General Publishing Co., Ltd., Rolls House, Bream's Buildings, E.C. Price, 7 s. 6 d. The Wanning and Ventilating of Dope Rooms and Aero- plane Factories. Sutcliffe Ventilating and Drying Co., Ltd., Cathedral Gates, Manchester. COMPANY MATTERS. Frederick Sage and Co. The report of Frederick Sage and Co. for the year ended September 30th last states that after making provision for depreciation, bad and doubtful debts, the net profit, subject to special taxation and excess profits duty, is £26,073 ; £9,033 was brought forward, making £35,106. The directors recommend a dividend of 6 per cent., less tax, on ordinary shares, paid December 20th, to jilace to reserve fund £5,000 and to carry' forward, subject to special taxation and excess profits duty, £16,603. NEW COMPANIES REGISTERED. BRITISH EMAILLITE CO., LTD., 30, Regent Street, S.W. — Capital £100,000, in £1 shares. Acquiring business of manufacturers of and dealers in dope for aircraft formerly carried on by a compan y of the same name (now ini iquidation ) , &c. Permanent director : W. R. Prentice. GENERAL AERONAUTICAL CO.. LTD., 30, Regent Street, S.W. — Capital £30.000, in £1 shares. Acquiring business of manufacturers of and dealers in aeroplanes and parts thereof, and in particular propellers and airscrews, formerly carried on by a company of the same name in- corporated in 1 91 4. Permanent director: W. R. Prentice. MOORE RADIATOR TUBE CO.. LTD.— Capital £2,000, in £1 shares. Acquiring business of tube makers carried on by F. Moore and E. Buckley at 62, Gooch Street, Bir- mingham, as the “ Moore Radiator Tube Co.," general engineers, aircraft manufacturers, &c. First directors : F. Moore, T. W. H. Jones and E. Buckley'. STANDARD AIR PRESS, LTD., 3, Arlington Street, W — Capital £1,000, in £1 shares. Printers and publishers. Enter- ing into an agreement betwe; n the Aeronautical Institute of Great Britain and Blin Dtsbltds of the one part and C. Fearnley of the other part. BUSINESS NAMES REGISTRATIONS. INTERNATIONAL AIRCRAFT WORKS.— Registered January 26th, 1918. Aeronautical and general engineers, 12a, Emmanuel Avenue,- Acton, W. Partners : (1) L. de Borger (Belgian), 332, Fulham Road, S.W. ro ; (2) J. Tiele- mans (Belgian), 156, Coningham Road, Shepherd's Bush, W. ; (3) J. Jassin (Belgian), 1, Arminger Koad, W. ; (4) F. Grenade (Canadian, formerly' Belgian), 6, Noel Road, Acton, W. E E E E NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS. 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